Changes
by Andra-ggfan
Summary: Rory's pregnant, Jess is starting to get overprotective and her insane family and home town are along for the ride. Future Literati fanfic.
1. Pregnancy tests and all the rest

**A/N: Oh, look new fanfic! Exciting, isn't it? I am continuing my exploration/obsession for Rory and Jess as adults. It will definitely be a multi-chapter fic and well, I believe the rest is pretty self-explanatory. I hope you like it and remember to leave a review telling me if I should this continue or not.**

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**Pregnancy tests and all the rest**

One cold fall afternoon, Jess walked in the small apartment he shared with Rory, dropping his keys on the table. He looked around the living room, hoping to find her there but couldn't see her, so he opened the door to the bedroom. Walking inside, he saw her curled up on the bed, hugging a pillow tightly. He crouched down so he could look at her and pushed a strand of hair behind her ear.

"Still tired?"

She nodded, biting her lip.

"Ror, you've been like this for almost four days. I know you're going to hate me for saying this, but you really should go see a doctor." He tried not to sound too worried, not wanting to make her feel any worse.

"I'm fine. Just a rough week at work, I think."

"Rougher than any other week? Don't think so."

"Maybe I'm getting old then." She tried to smile but ended up yawning instead.

"Have you at least told your mom about this?"

"And make her worry for nothing? Jess, I'm fine. Just tired, that's all." She extended her arm and cupped his face. "Come lie down with me."

"Fine. But if you're not feeling any better by next week, I'm dragging you to the doctor and I don't care if you yell, kick me or break up with me, got it?"

"Fine." She smiled this time and he stood up, kicking his shoes off and lied down on his side of the bed. She quickly turned around and rested her head on his shoulder while he wrapped his arm around her.

"Back still hurt?"

"A bit."

Lowering his hand, he started rubbing her back slowly and kissed the top of her head.

"Anything I can do to make you feel better?"

"Just what you're doing right now. That helps."

"Ok. If you can think of anything else…?"

"I'll let you know." She kissed his shoulder and he continued to rub her back, trying to convince himself that she was fine.

Saturday night, after another day she spent in bed, napping or on the couch, watching movies, Jess walked to the kitchen and picked up his cell phone, getting angry at her stubbornness.

_"This better be good! You're interrupting movie night!"_ Lorelai quipped from the other end of the phone.

"Lorelai, it's Jess. I need you to talk some sense into your daughter. She's being impossible."

_"You two have a fight?"_ The woman tried to guess, despite knowing full well that he would have never called for that reason.

"Nope, but we're going to have one very soon. She doesn't want to go see a doctor."

_"Why? What's wrong?"_ He could hear her moving at the other end of the phone and shushing her husband.

"Her back hurts and she's been tired all week. And I mean really tired, as in she takes twenty naps a day and when she's not asleep, she's still in bed or on the couch."

_"Jess, I'm sure she's fine but I will…"_ She tried to comfort the young man over the phone, when an idea popped in her brain. _"Wait, you say she's tired? All the time?"_

"Yeah."

_"And her back hurts?"_

"Have you actually been listening to a word I've been saying? Yes, it hurts."

_"Ok, Jess, I need you to go, find her and put her on the phone right this second."_

"You're going to convince her to see a doctor?"

_"Yeah. But I have to know something else first and trust me, that is definitely not the conversation either one of us ever wants to have. Ever. So go find her now."_

"Is it bad?" He suddenly became more worried, trying not to think of all the things that could go wrong.

_"No. I don't know. It depends. I'm probably wrong, anyway."_ Lorelai rambled before taking a deep breath. _"Just go find her!"_

"Ok." Jess walked back in the living room and headed for the couch, handing the phone to Rory. "It's your mother. Talk to her."

"You called her?" She looked back at him, angry.

"Yes. Talk." Rory just took the phone and shook her head slowly.

"Hey, mom." Jess took a few steps back, leaning against a wall, looking at her.

_"Ok, I may be completely wrong here but your boyfriend said you're tired and not normal tired but really tired and your back hurts so again, I'm probably wrong but that's kind of how it was for me this time and are you late?"_ Lorelai rambled again, trying not to get too excited.

"What?" Rory asked, not getting what her mother was asking.

_"That thing? The one that happens every month? Has it happened this month?"_

Rory took a long pause, trying to remember how to breathe properly. "Not yet. It should, though. This weekend probably."

_"And it's not late?"_

"Maybe a day. Wait…you don't actually think…?"

_"Yeah, that's exactly what I think."_

"But…but…" Rory tried to calm herself down. "It can't! No way."

_"Because you're being safe?"_

"Yeah."

_"Um, kid, sorry to break this to you but that can fail."_

"No way! That can't happen to me."

_"Yeah, to you too. So I suggest you either get your butt of the couch and go to the store or, better yet, send the hoodlum and pick up a test. Just to be sure." _

"You don't really think it's…that, do you?"

_"I don't know, Rory. I think there's a good possibility."_

"I'll…go do what you said."

_"And call me back the second you know anything!"_

"Promise."

_"Ok. And keep in mind that I will not sleep, eat or drink until I find out. Now go tell Jess because he's really worried, hon. And don't be angry with him because he called me."_

Rory looked at her boyfriend, who was still standing there, looking at her. "I'm not. Anymore, anyway. I have to go…do that. I'll call you back."

_"Ok. Bye. And…good luck. Whichever way you want this to go."_

"Thanks. Bye, mom." With that, she closed the phone and smiled at Jess. "Come here."

He walked slowly and sat next to her on the couch. "Still mad at me?"

"No. But…" She took a deep breath then kissed him, not knowing how he was going to take the news. "Mom thinks I might be pregnant." Actually saying the word for the first time made her quiet as well and she just looked at him, trying to understand what was going on in his mind. When he didn't say anything for a few minutes she wrapped her fingers around his hand.

"Jess…?"

"Sorry." He shook his head quickly. "Still processing. I…don't know what to say. How do you feel?"

"Like throwing up." She smiled weakly and he wrapped his arm around her, pulling her in for a hug. He kissed the top of her head, rubbing her arm gently.

"Sorry."

"So…what do we do now?" She asked him, her voice weak.

"I suppose now I go and buy you a pregnancy test and then we take it from there."

"And if it's positive?"

"I think that kind of goes in the 'take it from there' bit." He chuckled, kissing her head again.

"Ok." She stood up, extending her hand. "I'm coming with you. There is no way I can sit by myself on the couch, biting my nails and waiting. I'd have no fingers left by the time you got back."

He smirked again and took her hand. Before he got up from the couch, his eyes lingered for a second on her abdomen, a million thoughts rushing through his brain. Shaking them out of his head, he stood up and wrapped both his arms around Rory, kissing her softly.

"Whatever way this goes…you know I'm here, right?"

Instead of replying she just hugged him tightly, burying her face in the crook of his neck.

"I love you."

"Really? I had no idea."

She looked up at him and slapped his chest. "This is not the time to be a smartass."

"I won't let it happen again, ma'am." He nodded solemnly, making her giggle.

"Better." She took his hand and looked at the door. "So…we should go, right?"

"Unless you have a rabbit lying around the house?"

"You couldn't even last ten seconds."

"If it's any consolation, I tried." He smirked again and started walking towards the door, with Rory next to him. She picked up her keys and started unlocking the door but he stopped her, cupping her face in his free hand and kissing her.

"I love you too. And it will be ok."

"Thank you for saying that. And for being here."

He just kissed her again, pushing a strand of hair behind her ear with his fingers.

They walked to the pharmacy quietly, both of them trying to process the possibility of a baby. Once they reached it, they stood in the doorway, overwhelmed by the number of shelves. Jess looked at her, letting go of her hand.

"So, should we split up, Scooby gang? And the one that finds them first goes looking for the other one?"

"Yeah." She smiled and kissed him. "Meet back here in 10 minutes, just in case we can't find each other again."

"Ok." He nodded, then they both headed in separate directions in the store. Five minutes later, Jess, having just found the aisle they were looking for, walked around the store, only to find Rory standing in front of the baby aisle, looking at diapers, bottles and various other baby related items. Smiling, he wrapped his arms around her from behind and kissed her shoulder gently. She looked around to look at him and smiled back.

"We could be back here in 9 months."

He was quiet for a few seconds before he decided to ask her what was going on in his mind. "You…want this, don't you?"

She turned around to look at him. "Not before it was a possibility. I don't think I've ever thought 'I want a baby soon'. It was always more of a 'someday, definitely' and that someday was always far away in the future. But now, when it could actually happen…yeah, I do. And I don't know if that scares you, though I hope it doesn't, but I want this to be real."

Instead of replying, Jess hugged her, kissing her temple, as she wrapped her arms around him as well.

"Let's go find out if it is then."

"Ok."

She let go of him and took his hand instead, and they both walked to the shelf. Once they reached it, they stood in front of it, looking at the overwhelming choice.

"Which one?" Jess looked at her, his hand still holding hers.

"I…don't know. I guess we just pick one."

"This one?" He just picked up a random box and handed it to her.

"Nope. I don't like the box."

"Ok." He took it back from her and put it back on the shelf, then picked up another one. "This one?"

"Five minutes? Are you crazy?"

He just shook his head, smirking. "How about you pick whichever one you want?" She smiled back and kissed his cheek.

"Thank you." Taking the last step towards the shelf, she picked up a box and handed it to Jess. "This one. It says it's fast, accurate and there are 3 in the box."

"You plan on spending the entire night peeing on sticks?" He chuckled and she looked at him, trying to stay serious but ended up smiling as well.

"Hello, have you ever met me? I want to be sure."

"Ok. This one it is." He lifted the box in the air and Rory just kissed him quickly.

"Thanks."

"Did I ever have a word to say in this?" Jess smirked.

"Not really." She smiled back, kissing his cheek again.

"How about lying to protect my feelings next time?"

"I'm not promising anything. Now let's go! I have to know." She grabbed his sleeve and started dragging him towards the cash register. As soon as they paid, they walked out and headed back for their apartment, Rory clutching the bag tightly in her hand, her other one wrapped around Jess' waist.

"Jess…?"

"Hm?"

"You…haven't said how you feel about this. It's…" She took a deep breath before continuing. "It's ok not to be excited about it. It's not like we planned it or really talked about it as a serious possibility so you don't have to be happy or excited or anything. I know I want it but you don't have to and I won't be angry with you, I swear. We'd just have to talk about it after we know but you can not want it." She rambled, not looking at him.

Jess stopped walking and she stopped as well, still not looking at him.

"Really? You wouldn't be angry?"

"You don't want it." She stated simply, trying not to sound too disappointed. When she finally looked up at him, she saw him smirking, trying very hard not to laugh. "What's so funny?"

"How quickly you went from not being angry to pouting."

"I never said I won't be sad." She countered and he just continued to smirk, not saying anything else. "Stop that!" Rory slapped his chest, finally making him chuckle. "You're impossible!" She huffed and tried to walk away but he caught her hand and stopped her.

"Rory, we've been together for almost 5 years. I kind of figured it's going to stick this time. It's definitely not the worst time in the world for us to have a kid. Truncheon's going well, your job's also good so we don't have to worry about money. We'd have to find a new place to live because there is absolutely no room in our apartment to stick a baby, much less the amount of stuff we're going to buy and receive but I've been telling you we have to move for at least a year and if it wasn't for your insane attachment to our first home together, we would have been out of there a long time ago. And well, I love you. You being pregnant with my kid is not the worst thing that could happen. In fact, it's probably one of the best. So yeah, I kind of want this to be real as well." He finished his speech and cupped her face in his hands, kissing her softly. When he pulled back she blinked quickly, trying to push away a few tears.

"You're a jerk!"

"What did I do this time?" Jess asked.

"You make me go crazy and then you go and say something like that and make it really hard for me to be mad at you. You should be nice to your potentially pregnant girlfriend, not make her worry."

"Just payback, Ror."

"What for?"

"For making me worry like a madman for the last 5 days with your stubbornness."

She hugged him tightly, kissing his cheek. "Sorry."

"It's ok. Now are you ready to go home and see if there's going to be a baby or not?"

She nodded quickly and took his hand. When they reached their apartment, they walked back inside and put their coats down, Rory still holding the bag tightly in her hand.

"Can you…come with me? Not in the bathroom, just wait outside. I don't want to be alone."

"Sure." He kissed her temple as they walked towards the small bathroom. She opened the door and looked at him one last time.

"Tell me again it's going to be fine."

"It's going to be fine."

"Thank you." She kissed him again and took a deep breath before walking in and closing the door behind her. A couple of minutes later, she came out, holding the white plastic stick in her hand.

"I can't look at it! I'm too nervous to look at it! You do it!"

"What's it supposed to say? You had the instructions."

"It just says 'pregnant' or 'not pregnant'."

"What, no gazillion lines?"

"No. And will you please just look at it already before I go crazy? Don't worry, there's a cap over the icky part." She shoved the test in his hand and he looked at her one last time.

"Ready?"

"No. You?"

"No."

She giggled and kissed him again. "Perfect. If there's actually a kid, he or she will never hear this story, got it?"

"Got it." He took a deep breath and lifted his hand, looking at the test.


	2. And the results are in!

**A/N: A quick update which you will hopefully like. Thank you for the reviews, I am completely overwhelmed by the positive response to this. You all great. Yhank you again and enjoy this. **

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**And the results are in!**

He took a deep breath and lifted his hand, looking at the test. She watched him as a smile appeared on his lips.

"So?"

"Pregnant."

"You're serious?"

Instead of answering, Jess just showed her the test with the word clearly appearing in the small window.

"Oh my God!" She squealed excitedly before wrapping her arms quickly around his neck, making Jess take a step back, trying to keep his balance. She crushed her mouth to his and he just wrapped his free hand around her waist, pulling her as close to him as he could. "I love you!" She managed to whisper between kisses, both of them smiling madly. When she finally pulled back, she took the test from his hand, checking it again.

"I…really can't believe this is really happening. We have to move. And buy a crib and clothes and I need more books because I know next to nothing about babies and pregnancy and things and how am I going to tell grandma and grandpa and God, there are a million things we have to do!" She rambled quickly, making him smile even harder.

"Breathe."

"No time for breathing." Rory shook her head.

"Yes, there is." He wrapped his arm around her waist, kissing her temple. "Now let's go sit down and then you can obsess all you want."

"Why do I have to sit down?"

"Because I said so. Someone needs to remind you to take it easy."

"I will take it easy once we figure all those things out." She smiled and he just looked at her, cocking an eyebrow. "Fine…" She walked to the couch, with Jess following closely. "See…I'm sitting down."

"Good." He smirked again, sitting down next to her.

"Can we go to the bookstore tomorrow?"

"Sure."

"And can I buy all the books I want?"

"Yep."

She hugged him again, running her hands through his hair. "I love you."

"So you keep saying." He smirked when she finally let go.

"You have to be nice to me! I'm pregnant!" She stuck out her tongue, making him chuckle.

"Oh, grown-up. Definitely ready to be someone's mother."

Instead of replying, she just looked at him, grinning madly as his words sunk in. "I'm going to be someone's mom." He just picked her up, cradling her in his arms as she wrapped her arms around his neck.

"Yes and soon you'll be too fat for me to do this." Jess chuckled, pulling her as close to him as he could.

"Hey! Pregnant, not fat!" She pointed out again, kissing his cheek. He put her down, her legs still sprawled over his.

"You're going to use this as much as you can, aren't you?"

"I get to. If I have to deal with all the nasty things, I get to make you do whatever I want. If it's one thing I learned from mom…" She stopped in the middle of her sentence. "Mom! I have to call her!"

"Inform her she's going to be a grandmother? Can I teach the kid to call her "granny" and ask her to bake and knit?"

"I like having you alive, thank you." Rory grinned, picking up her phone from the table. She pushed the speed dial button, waiting for Lorelai to pick up.

"_Heya, kid. So?"_

"What's that noise? Where are you?"

"_In the car. Now stop stalling!"_

"Where are you going?"

"_Um…"_ Lorelai hesitated.

"Mom…?"

"_I know I should have given you time to do this by yourselves and Luke told me I should but I am your mother and I need to know if I'm going to be a grandmother or not and you weren't calling!"_

"So…you're coming here? Tonight?"

"_Yeah."_ Lorelai dragged the word, hoping her daughter won't get mad at her.

"Ok. We'll just wait until you get here then."

"_You…you are evil!"_

"I learned everything I know from you."

"_Demon child! Female Damien!"_

"See you soon, mom." Rory smiled again, pushing the red button on her phone. "Mom's coming over."

"I heard." Jess smirked, kissing her shoulder.

"Do you mind?"

"Not really." In the years that he and Rory had been together, his relationship with Lorelai had gotten better. They started with a truce, trying to keep everyone calm and happy and slowly had progressed to a bizarre sort of friendship. Not that either one of them would ever admit that.

"Jess?"

"Yeah?"

"Can we not tell a lot of people yet? I don't think I could deal with that if…something goes wrong." She bit her lip, looking at him and he cupped her face in his hand.

"Nothing will go wrong." He leaned over and kissed her softly.

"You don't know that."

"Nope. But worrying about it won't do you any good."

"And…if something does go wrong, you won't hate me for it, will you?" She bit her lip again, lowering her eyes.

"Come here." He hugged her close to him, kissing the top of her head. "If you ever as much as think that again, I will kick your butt all the way to China."

She smiled, lifting her head and kissing his cheek. "Ok."

"As for telling people, you get to this however you want to. I'm just the innocent bystander holding the ice cream." He smirked, trying to lighten the mood.

"Mm…ice cream."

"Hungry?"

"Starving. I haven't eaten since breakfast."

"That's because every time your personal chef came to ask if you were hungry, you were asleep."

"And what's your excuse right now?" She grinned.

"None. Take away or sending me to slave over the stove again?" He smirked, making her giggle.

"Hard. I think I'll go for the second one."

"Fine." Jess sighed dramatically, getting up and taking her hand, making her stand up as well. "I'm not leaving you alone here. You'd be surrounded by lists by the time dinner was done."

"Can I make lists while you cook? Just a couple, I promise?"

"What are my chances of winning if I say no?"

"None."

"Fine. But if I see a pro/con list over what college the kid will go to, I'm taking the notebook away!"

"I suppose that's fair." She kissed him quickly and they both walked to the kitchen.

A couple of hours and dinner later, they were back in the living room, with Jess looking over the lists Rory had written.

"I really don't think baby proofing the house as soon as we move in is a must. Finding a house first is."

"But we won't have time later!"

"I may not be a baby expert, but I don't think they move around that much at first. So if we add 6 months to whatever will be left after we move, we're kind of looking at a year. At least. There's no time to baby proof the house in a year? Are we moving in a palace and you forgot to inform me?"

"Oh, forgive me for being worried about the safety of our kid."

"Rory…" He tried to reason with her and she calmed down, smiling.

"I'll agree to wait if you agree that we start looking for a new place on Monday."

"I was never disagreeing with that point but if it will make you feel better, fine, we'll start looking for a new place on Monday."

"Thank you." She kissed him softly, resting her head on his shoulder. "This is going to work out."

He kissed the top of her head while he ran his hand over her leg. "Of course it will."

"Are you just saying that to make me stop making lists?"

"And because we have no other choice. It's not like we can close our eyes and make it go away. But mostly because it really will work out. Somehow."

"What if the kid hates us?"

"Then we'll lock him or her in the basement until it likes us again."

"Jess!" She slapped his hand playfully. "Don't be silly, we don't have a basement." She grinned looking at him and he chuckled.

"We'll put that on the list of things to look for in our new place."

"At least an attic." She smiled again, trying to stifle a yawn.

"Tired again?"

"Yeah."

"Go to sleep then."

"I can't. Mom's coming over."

"I know. But you can get some sleep and I get to make her wait until the morning."

"Remember the whole 'I prefer you alive' thing? Still applies."

"I'll build a pillow fort to keep her out." He chuckled again.

"But I'm the childish one here." She stuck her tongue out again.

"Hey, I never claimed…" He was cut off by the doorbell ringing furiously. "I think that's Lorelai."

"Most likely." Rory smiled, getting off the couch and walking to the door. She opened it to find her mother standing on the other side, getting ready to ring again.

"I need to know."

"You kind of made that clear by coming here in the middle of the night, mom."

Lorelai walked in the room, seeing Jess still sitting on the couch.

"You! Tell me!" She looked at him and he stood up.

"I don't know, Rory…should we tell her?" Jess smirked, looking at his girlfriend and she just smiled back at him.

"I suppose we could…at some point." She dragged the last words.

"You are evil!" Lorelai pointed her finger at Jess. "And you're rubbing off on my kid! I refuse to accept that this is my influence. Now one of you better tell me before I go crazy and decide to kill a certain punk who may have impregnated my daughter. Out of wedlock, I might add."

Rory took the couple of steps separating her from her mother and stood in front of her, taking a deep breath.

"It's positive."

Lorelai just looked at her, trying to process the information. "Wait…so you mean that…?"

"Yep. I'm pregnant."

"Yay!" Lorelai yelped excitedly, hugging her daughter. "Kid, I'm so happy…" She pulled back and looked between Rory and Jess. "Are we all happy about this?"

Rory looked at her boyfriend, smiling. "Definitely happy about this."

"Then I can tell you just how happy I am for you." She hugged Rory again, then looked at Jess, who was watching them. "Both of you. This is fantastic news."

"You really mean that?" Rory asked.

"Yeah." Lorelai beamed and pulled back, wiping her eyes quickly. She took the few steps separating her from Jess and smiled. "You're not escaping a hug so stand still. Congratulations, Jess." She wrapped her arms quickly around him and pulled back just as fast. "That was…odd."

"Can we never do that again?"

"Good Lord, yes!" She sighed, relieved, then looked at him again. "Now run to the kitchen and make us some coffee. I need to convince you that you must name your child Bono, and I need to do it tonight."


	3. Sherlock makes a promise

**A/N: I'm trying to take advantage of my last few weeks of freedom before classes start again by writing as much as I can. Hence the quick updates. Slightly more serious chapter towards the end though but I hope you like it. Thank you for the reviews, you're all great.**

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**Sherlock makes a promise**

"_Now run to the kitchen and make us some coffee. I need to convince you that you must name your child Bono, and I need to do it tonight."_

"Ror, you ok with coffee?" He walked next to her, wrapping his arm around her waist and kissing her temple.

"I don't know. Mom, it won't hurt the baby, will it?"

"Nope. I did my research last time I was pregnant. I may or may not have printed 10 different studies to convince Luke. And hey, I tried to drown myself in coffee with you and you turned out fine. Except for your dating choice here." She made a face at Jess and he just shook his head, smiling.

"You know you'll get decaf if you're not nice to me, right?"

"You know I won't keep my mother away from you when she points out the impregnated out of wedlock thing, right?"

"You love saying that." Rory remarked.

"Two of the best and funniest words ever, and I get to use both in one sentence? Score!" She grinned, then looked back at Jess. "Why aren't you getting us coffee right now?"

"I'm going!" He grumbled, placing another soft kiss on Rory's cheek before he walked in the kitchen.

"You, sit down!" Lorelai pointed to the couch and Rory shook her head, then sat down, knowing she had no chance of winning. "From now on, he gets to do everything you ask for. It's in the rulebook."

"I know, trust me." Rory smiled at her mother.

"She's already ordered my slave outfit." Jess announced from the kitchen.

"Nice! I can just give you my bell now that my ungrateful husband pretends he doesn't hear it anymore."

"Where is Luke, by the way?"

"Home with Will. They kind of frown on leaving a 9 month old baby alone all by himself, even if you leave enough fried chicken and whisky for the child to live for a week, not one night."

"Imagine that." Rory smiled, looking at her mother.

"I need to call him and let him know I got here alive."

"Can you not tell him about the pregnancy? He should hear it from me and Jess."

"Sure, babe. Whatever you want."

"I think I'm going to like this thing. Everyone is doing what I want."

"You only like it because you haven't hit the bad bits yet. But when you do, remember you have your slave here and I'm at the other end of a phone."

"Is it really bad?"

"It's uncomfortable and nauseous. But the general consensus is that it's definitely and completely worth it."

Jess walked in the room, holding a couple of mugs that he dropped on the table, then went back and picked another one. He sat down behind Rory, putting the last mug next to the other ones.

"Coffee."

"Couch." Lorelai pointed at the couch they were all sitting on. "Anything else blindingly obvious that you'd like to point out?"

"That a thank you would be nice."

"So would have been one of you telling me over the phone and not making me wait."

"But this way was so much more fun." Rory smiled. "Mom, you were going to call Luke?"

"Oh, yeah!" Lorelai jumped off the couch and picked up her purse. "I'll be back in a minute."

"How are you?" Jess asked Rory when they were alone and she leaned her head back, resting it on his shoulder.

"Happy."

He smiled and kissed her temple. "Good." Leaning closer to her ear, he whispered "I love you.", making her smile as well.

"You'll still love me even if I actually order you a slave outfit?"

"I think there's a really good chance." He kissed her temple again.

"Ok, stop being cute!" Lorelai quipped, walking back in the room and sitting down. "Luke says hello."

"You didn't tell him, did you?"

"Nope. Why did you think I had to hang up so fast?"

"Thanks."

"No problem. When are you going to tell your grandparents?"

"We haven't actually thought about it." Rory answered. "The first Friday night dinner after they come back from Europe probably."

"Jess, wear armor." Lorelai smiled and he nodded.

"Noted."

"You don't think it's going to be that bad, do you?" Rory asked her mother.

"I don't know. But better safe than sorry."

"Bring the baby. He can distract them long enough for me to fit that in the conversation."

"Using your brother to escape the wrath of my mother! Rory, I am so proud of you." Lorelai smiled. "At least dad will be excited about his first great grandkid. And as soon as little Bono or Belinda here is born, mom will forget she ever hated Jess."

"She gets no vote in naming the baby." Jess leaned over to look at Rory and pointed at her mother.

"Hey! My choices are fantastic, just so you know!"

"You've named your kids, we'll name ours, thank you." He countered.

"And with your contribution one of those kids is now pregnant so I should at least get to have an opinion."

"How about we stop this useless debate before I decide that neither one of you gets a vote?" Rory smiled and Jess kissed her shoulder softly.

"Sorry."

"Yeah, what he said." Lorelai pointed at him.

"Better." Rory smiled again.

"You just wait until you need my help with anything." Lorelai pointed at Jess again and he smirked. "Then we can negotiate."

"Whatever you need to tell yourself."

"You'll see…" Lorelai threatened again, pointing her finger.

"And not so subtly changing the subject, I have a question!" Rory looked at her mother.

"Shoot."

"When does this stupid fatigue go away? Because being tired all the time? Not fun."

"Oh, kid, I'm sorry." Lorelai rubbed her daughter's knee sympathetically. "If I remember correctly, around the time the kid turns 10. 7 if you're lucky and it's quiet."

"You're not helping!"

"I'm trying. Probably week 13 if you're lucky. But then it comes back. You get used to it anyway. Kind of. Not really actually."

"Ugh." Rory grumbled and Jess leaned forward, pushing a strand of hair behind her ear.

"Ror, if you want to head to bed, I can clean the kitchen."

"Aw, he's offering to do the chores!" Lorelai gushed and Jess shot her a look.

"I'm also here if you need any help killing your mother." He looked at Rory again and she smiled, turning her head so she could see him.

"Not yet, but I'll let you know if anything changes."

"Hey!" Lorelai protested. "Ungrateful child. And ungrateful boyfriend of child! Just wait until he gets all overprotective and you need someone to mock him with!" She looked at Rory, noticing for the first time that Jess' hand was resting on her stomach, her fingers intertwined through his. "It's so much fun!"

"It took someone less than 5 minutes." She turned around and kissed his cheek. "He made me sit down!"

"Damn, you beat Luke by almost half an hour. Although you're not clutching a calculator, so Jackson still wins. And Jess?"

"Huh?" He looked at her, trying to hide his embarrassment.

"Good boy!"

"I thought we're supposed to mock the overprotectivness!" Rory protested.

"Don't worry, honey, we will. But you're still my kid, so I have to encourage him taking care of you."

"I don't see how making her sit down is overprotective."

"It is, don't argue."

He shook his head, trying not to laugh. "You're both crazy."

"What gave it away, Sherlock?" Lorelai smiled and looked at Rory, who had started yawning again. "Ok, time for bed, young lady."

"Fine." She stood up, looking at Jess. "Pillows and blankets for mom are…"

"Top shelf of the hallway closet. I live here too. I'll come over in a bit."

She ran her hand through his hair, smiling. "Take your time." Looking at her mother, she smiled. "I'll see you tomorrow, mom. Have a good night."

"Night, hon." Lorelai smiled, watching her daughter as she headed for the bedroom. When she closed the door, Jess stood up, picking up his and Lorelai's empty cups and shook his head when he saw that Rory hadn't even touched hers.

"She'll do her own research, apparently."

"She wouldn't be Rory if she didn't."

"I should wash the dishes. Do you want more coffee?"

"Just leave Rory's cup here. I'll finish it."

"Ok. Do you want me to make your bed now?"

"I can do it. Just point to the closet."

"That one." He pointed to a small closet next to the front door. "I'll be in the kitchen if you need anything."

"Thanks, Jess."

"No problem." He walked to the kitchen, taking the empty mugs with him. Half an hour later, Lorelai was lying on the couch, trying to fall asleep, when she heard the front door opening and then closing slowly and Jess' footsteps as he walked out. When she didn't hear him coming back for a while, she got out of bed and grabbed her coat, heading outside as well. She found him sitting on the steps in front of the building, taking a drag out of a cigarette. She sat down next to him, wrapping her jacket tighter around herself, trying to keep the cold away.

"Rory said you quit those." She pointed to the burning cigarette in his hand.

"I did."

"So I'm imagining that?"

"Old times' sake, I think."

"Jess, what's wrong?" She looked at the young man and he shook his head slowly.

"Nothing."

"Convincing." She huffed, pushing her hair behind her ears.

"It doesn't matter, Lorelai."

"Jess…"

He shook his head again. "You're not going to give up, are you?"

"I'm not Luke but we do share a house, a bed and a kid. You can pretend. I like to think I'm skilled in imitating him if you need extra help imagining it."

He chuckled softly, taking another drag out of his cigarette. "I just keep thinking 'what if I am like him'?"

"Like who?" Lorelai looked at him, confused.

"Jimmy."

"Jess, you're not like him. You're nothing like him."

"You don't know him."

"I've heard the stories. And I know you well enough to be sure you're nothing like that."

"But what if I am? What if he started just like me, wanting to stick around, being sure he will and then one day he just couldn't do it anymore and he left?"

"Jess, feeling like that? It's normal. Trust me, every parent to be reacts the same way. Heck, I wanted to head for the hills this time when I found out I was pregnant and we actually planned it. You don't even want to know how I reacted the first time. And with what you've been through? I'd question it if you didn't worry. But there is no gene that makes men be jerks and leave their kids. You'll do just fine, I promise."

"How do you know?" Jess looked at her, lighting a new cigarette.

"I just do. Have you told Rory any of this?"

"No." He shook his head. "She'd worry herself sick."

Lorelai smiled and looked at him. "And that's how I know you won't leave. You love her, Jess and…well, if you left the kid, you'd have to leave her as well."

"I left her before." He said coldly, staring into the distance.

"You left your life. She was just part of it."

"How do you know that?"

"Trust me…I wanted to do the same thing. Before Rory happened. I loved Chris but I was going to leave that life as soon as I got a chance. And that meant leaving him as well."

"I never thought of that."

"My life before Rory…not at all great. And frankly the fact that your dad left means that if you ever leave what I or Luke or Chris or any of the other people that love the girl will want to do to you is nothing compared to what you would do to yourself. You'd have to live and go through every day knowing that your kid is going through what you went through, asking him or herself the same things you asked yourself."

"You're sure about this?"

"I am. Just wait until the first time you get to hold that little baby in your arms…that's when you'll actually realize that all these fears were for nothing. You won't want to leave the kid's side for a second. That only applies when it's quiet. If it's crying? You'll want to feed it to the wolves." She snickered, ruffling Jess' hair.

"Is there something in the Gilmore genes that makes you like messing up my hair?"

"I don't know. I don't think my mother's ever tried it. I think we have to wait until the kid is born and see if he or she likes doing it as well. That will be the decisive vote."

Squashing his cigarette under his foot, Jess looked at Lorelai. "Thanks."

"No problem. Always here to Doctor Laura you." She smiled, remembering their first attempt at a conversation and he smirked.

"Still want a giant cream pie to throw in my face?"

"Only about half the time now."

"Comforting to know. I'll make sure I'm never in the same room as you and pie."

"Like I'd waste perfectly good pie on you!" Lorelai smiled and Jess smirked, standing up.

"Next you're going to admit you like me."

"You grow on people. Like fungus." She laughed softly.

"Flattering. Now I should get some sleep. So should you for that matter."

"Yeah, yeah." She grumbled, standing up.

"Can you…can you not tell Rory about this?"

"The smoking or the freaking out?"

"Both, I guess."

She smiled again, looking at him. "Don't worry, I won't say a word. Your secret's safe with me."

"Thanks."

"Anytime, Jess."

They walked back inside, locking the doors behind them. Before he reached his bedroom, Jess turned around and looked at Lorelai, who was sitting on the couch, the remote in her hand.

"Good night."

"Night."

He walked in the room, closing the door softly behind him and lied down on the bed, looking at Rory who was fast asleep. He moved closer to her and wrapped his arm around her, smiling when she relaxed at his touch. He ran his fingers across her stomach and kissed her shoulder, knowing that she wasn't going to wake up.

"Hey, kid. I'm your dad. I know you have no idea what that means and well, probably you don't even have ears yet, but I have to tell you this, so bear with me, ok? My own dad…well, he wasn't a very nice guy. I'll tell you the story when you're a lot older. The gist of things is that he left when I was very young. Your mom's dad - your mom, she's this amazing woman you're growing inside of right now and trust me, if you'll love her half as much as I do, we'll have no problems- well, her dad wasn't all that great either. And a lot of things about your existence scare me right now, but I won't leave you. I promise."


	4. Trip to Stars Hollow

**A/N: Thank you for the reviews :). I hope you enjoy this chapter. **

* * *

**Trip to Stars Hollow**

The next morning, Rory walked as quietly as she could to the kitchen, trying not to wake up her mother who was still sleeping on the couch. She found Jess sitting on a chair, drinking coffee and reading. She sat down on the chair next to him and he looked up, putting his book on the table.

"Morning." She smiled and he leaned over, kissing her softly.

"Morning. Sleep well?"

"Yeah." Rory nodded, looking at the cup of coffee. Jess pushed the mug closer to her, but she just shook her head. "I'm not in the mood for coffee."

"You're a very bad liar." He smirked, kissing her cheek. "It's decaf."

Taking the cup, she gulped down almost half of it, then put it back down on the table and saw Jess looking at her, trying not to laugh. "Since when do we have decaf in this house?"

"This morning."

"You went out and bought it?" She asked, trying to figure it out.

"Yes."

"Why?"

"Because you didn't drink the regular coffee last night. Figured you might need something to drink until you talk to the doctor about this."

She leaned over and kissed him, running her hand through his hair. "You're absolutely perfect, you know that?"

"I try."

"Why were you drinking decaf?"

"What are my chances of getting away with real coffee while you drink decaf?"

"Good point." She drank some more coffee, putting her hand on top of his on the table. "This tastes nothing like coffee."

"I can make a pot of real coffee if you want."

"No, thanks." She smiled, holding the mug up.

"Fine, but when you discover that it's ok to drink regular I am not responsible for this and will refuse to listen to you picking on me for making you drink decaf."

"I would never do such a thing." Rory tried to protest but he smirked, finishing the cup of coffee.

"Yes, you would."

"Ok, maybe."She conceded smiling.

He lifted the empty mug. "More?"

"Yes, please."

Jess stood up and filled the mug, picking up another one and filling that one as well. Sitting back down at the table, he gave her one of the mugs, then pushed a strand of hair behind her ear.

"Still happy about this pregnancy thing?"

"Yeah." She nodded, looking at him. "You?"

"Yep."

Rory stood up and cupped his face in her hands, looking at him. "Sure?"

"Very sure." He pulled her down so that she was sitting in his lap and wrapped his arms tightly around her, looking into her eyes. "Slightly terrified, but happy."

"So I'm not the only one who's scared?"

Jess chuckled, running his fingers under her shirt. "Definitely not."

"Good to know." She leaned in and kissed him, her fingers playing with the hairs on the back of his neck. "But…we'll be ok, right?"

"Why wouldn't we be?"

"I don't know…I guess I'm just scared and my mind is running a thousand miles a minute, making about a billion different scenarios of things that could go wrong."

"Nothing will go wrong, Ror." He hugged her closer to him, trying to make her fears go away. "Before you know it, you'll be sending me to the store at 3 in the morning because we ran out of diapers or whatever."

She smiled softly, kissing his forehead.

"And hey, if it will make you feel better, I can be all overprotective and not let you do anything so that you and Lorelai have something to mock."

"That would be nice." She laughed then kissed him again. They were interrupted by Lorelai walking in the room.

"I suppose it's not like you could do much damage at this point but really, I did not need to see that!" She snickered and Rory shot up, still standing next to Jess.

"Fully clothed, mom!" She pointed out, trying not to laugh. "Want some coffee?"

"It doesn't smell like coffee. Are you drinking decaf?" Lorelai asked, looking suspiciously at the two mugs on the table.

"Yes. You want some?"

"I'd rather drink rat poison."

Jess stood up and put his arm around Rory's waist, then looked at Lorelai. "I'll make you some real coffee. You, sit down." He turned around and winked at Rory, making her laugh and shake her head before sitting down.

"And he claimed he wasn't overprotective." Lorelai laughed again and Rory picked up her mug, sipping from it. "So, what are your plans for today?"

"Come with you to Stars Hollow and tell Luke and Lane. I knew she was pregnant before Zach did, I have to tell her." She twisted around and looked at Jess. "Is that ok with you?"

"Whatever you want, Ror."

"Anyone else you want to tell?"

"Sookie, I think."

"How about Chris?" Lorelai asked and Jess put her cup on the table, sitting down on his chair and looking at Rory, waiting for her to answer.

"I…don't know. I'll think about it." She squeezed Jess' hand under the table, then quickly stood up, picking up his mug, emptying it in the sink and filling it with regular coffee. "You shouldn't have to suffer because I'm insane."

"I already do." He smirked and she made a face.

"Funny. I think book shopping will have to wait until tomorrow. There's no way to buy pregnancy books in Stars Hollow without the entire town knowing in less than a minute." Rory looked at Jess and he nodded.

"Sure."

"Or, you know, you can have mine. It's not like I plan on getting pregnant again." Lorelai offered, smiling at the young couple.

"Thanks, mom."

"Hey, that's my grandkid you have in there. I get to spoil him or her as much as I can. And I get to start now!"

"There will be no spoiling. And no loud toys. And keep in mind that you have Will and whatever you buy for our kid, I can just find something way louder and more obnoxious for him!"

"Nu-uh. Being the grandmother gives me complete spoiling rights. And you wouldn't want to stifle little Bono's potential music career by hiding the drum kit I intend to buy as soon as I get a chance."

"That offer to help me kill her still good?" Rory grinned, looking at Jess and he nodded.

"Just say the words."

"You are both awful and mean and I hope you never expect me to babysit." Lorelai announced dramatically, drinking from her cup.

"In that case, we can stop babysitting for you. Eye for an eye, mom."

"Damn. Can we be friends again?" She smiled at her daughter.

"Until the first loud toy comes, we're friends."

"Deal."

"Rory, you hungry? We can go for breakfast before we leave." Jess asked, rubbing her knee gently under the table.

"Breakfast sounds great." She smiled back at him, then looked at her mother. "There's a great place nearby. Their pancakes are almost as good as Luke's."

"Blasphemy!"

"Hey, I only said that they're almost as good. Not better." Rory looked back at Jess. "I'm going to miss that place when we move."

"Wait, you're moving?" Lorelai asked.

"Not right now, but as soon as possible. There really isn't enough room in this apartment for both of us and a baby."

"Do you have to move this soon? It's not like you don't have time."

"Don't argue with her." Jess sighed. "This is a compromise."

"I want time to get settled in before the baby is born! What's so wrong about that? And I really don't want to move when I'm 7 months pregnant. No way! We're moving as soon as we can find a new place."

Jess sighed again, looking at Lorelai. "This is why we're moving. And not talking about that anymore."

"Sorry." She finished her coffee and smiled, looking at Rory. "Anyway, when you find a place, don't forget to call your helpful movers."

"We'll talk about it."

* * *

An hour later, after they all had breakfast, they got in their cars and headed for Stars Hollow. Once they were alone again in the car, Jess took his eyes away from the road for a second, looking at Rory.

"Why don't you want to tell your dad about this?"

"I'm just…it's petty."

"Ror, what is it?"

"He was never there for me." She finally admitted, trying not to get angry. "He missed almost everything that mattered in my life. My entire childhood, he was barely there. He'd always promise he would come and then not show up, time after time. Why should he get to share this one when he chose to miss that much?"A couple of tears rolled down her cheeks and she bit her lip, trying to hold them back.

He pulled the car to the side of the road, turning off the engine and looked at her, pushing a strand of hair behind her ear. "I'm sorry."

"What are you sorry for?" She asked, smiling softly.

"Bringing this up?" He tried to answer, unbuckling his seatbelt and leaning over to her. "He doesn't have to know." Jess kissed her, his fingers playing slowly in her hair.

"No, he should know. I should tell him. He's been good in the past few years."

"You don't have to tell him right away. We can wait for a while longer."

"I'm really not sure what I want to do about this." She kissed him again. "I'll think about it."

"Ok. Just don't think it so much you forget to be excited about this."

"Trust me, that's the one thing that's not going to happen." She smiled, cupping his face in her hand and placing a soft kiss on his lips. "This is really good, isn't it?"

"Yeah, it is." He agreed. "I love you."

"I love you too."

Jess kissed her one more time before going back to his seat and putting his seatbelt back on. "We should go before Lorelai starts wondering if we got abducted by aliens."

"Ok." She ran her fingers through his hair again while he started the engine and got back on the road. Some time later, she looked at him. "Mind if I go to sleep?"

"Nope."

"I have a feeling I'm going to be sleeping a lot until I get used to this. And the lack of caffeine is certainly not helping."

"You can have coffee."

"I just want to talk to the doctor before. I don't want to do anything that will hurt the baby."

"When are you calling your doctor?"

"First thing tomorrow."

"Can I…can I come with you when you go see him?"

"Her. And of course you can."

"And you won't mind?"

She smiled, running her hand through his hair slowly. "I want you there, Jess. I want to share every second of this with you. It's your kid as well."

"Unless you forgot to tell me about your sordid affair with the postman." He smirked, quickly looking at her.

"Actually, I've been meaning to tell you about that. I've been seeing him for a few months now. There's just something about the way he just throws our letters in the neighbor's mailbox that makes me swoon."

"I can't compete with that." He chuckled, making her laugh as well.

"You stand a pretty good chance." She smiled again, then looked back to the road, kicking off her shoes. "Wake me up when we get there."

"Instead of letting you sleep in the car for the rest of the day? I'll try to remember."

"You do that." She smiled one last time before resting her head against the window and closing her eyes.

* * *

A few hours later, Jess stopped the car behind Lorelai's and looked at Rory, who was slowly opening her eyes.

"Are we there?"

"Just got here."

"Ok." She stretched her arms, blinking rapidly a few times before opening the car door and walking out. Jess followed her and they both walked to Lorelai, who was standing by her car.

"You're finally here!"

"We were 100 feet behind you the entire way."

"Eh, well, I'm feeling dramatic. Now let's go inside. Luke's been pacing in front of the window since I got here."

"Ok, let's go." Rory replied, taking Jess' hand and they all walked to the front door.

"Luke!" Lorelai called as soon as they were inside and the man appeared from the living room, holding a young boy in his arms.

"Your son was trying to eat the couch again." He smiled and Lorelai extended her arms, taking the little boy away from him.

"Oh, you missed mommy, didn't you, Will? And no, that is not a sign that I have corrupted him with my evil eating ways. It's normal."

"Eating the couch?"

"Hey, better than trying to eat Paul Anka again." She smiled, kissing the boy's cheek. Finally noticing Rory and Jess, who were standing in the doorway, watching them, Luke smiled at them.

"So?"

"Jump right to the point, will you?" Lorelai laughed.

"Says the woman who drove to Philadelphia in the middle of the night." Rory replied, squeezing Jess' hand, trying to get the news out.

"We're not arguing this one again. I'm your mother, I should know of any life changing things as soon as they happen. Even if that means driving to your house in the middle of the night."

"Is there a life changing thing happening?" Luke asked again, looking at Rory. She looked at Jess quickly and then back at Luke, smiling as she bit her lip.

"Yeah, there is. I'm pregnant."

"Oh, wow…" He took the steps separating him from Rory and hugged her quickly. "Congratulations."

"Thanks, Luke."

Letting go of her, Luke gave Jess a quick hug as well. "Congratulations, Jess."

"Thanks." He replied as well, then wrapped his arm around Rory's waist.

"This is…wow. This is really wow."

"My husband, ladies and gentlemen." Lorelai quipped. "Captain Articulate!"

"My soon to be ex-wife." He laughed, kissing her cheek. "Come on in, let's sit down. Can I get you anything? Coffee, food, whatever?" He offered but Rory shook her head.

"No, we're fine." She stepped closer to her mother, smiling and taking her baby brother's hand in hers. "Heya, Will. You're going to be an uncle!"

The toddler gurgled, grinning at the attention and she started making faces, while Lorelai looked at them, smiling happily as well. Stepping closer to Jess and watching the scene, Luke leaned towards his nephew.

"How are you? Excited?"

Looking at his girlfriend who was sticking out her tongue, making the baby laugh, he nodded. "Yeah. Still hasn't kicked in."

"Give it a few days. If you need anything, you'll give me a call right? Even if it's someone to talk to?"

"Thanks." Jess nodded again and they continued to look at the two women and the toddler, when they heard the phone ring and then Caesar's panicked voice on the answering machine. _"Luke! Where are you? There are customers and I can't find the thing and there was the other thing and Kirk is here and Luke!" _

"Apparently the diner needs me. He's been calling all morning. But we should celebrate later."

"Fine, go, be a provider." Lorelai smiled, kissing him quickly. "We'll pull out the champagne…" She looked at Rory. "…and apple juice later."

"Mom, I'm going to go tell Lane then come back and we can watch a movie or something."

"You too? Leaving me here?"

"I'll be back fast. And you have Will, you're not alone."

"Hear that, baby? They're abandoning us." She cooed, looking at her son. "Jess, what are your plans?"

"Need any help at the diner?" He asked Luke and the man nodded.

"The waitress is out, I could use someone."

"I'm going with him."

"Scared of being here alone, with me?" Lorelai laughed.

"Just trying to be helpful." He smirked. "And yes, I have a feeling one of us would die in an hour."

"Fair enough. In that case, we're coming with you. I don't want to be sit here, waiting for Rory to come back."

"Ok." Luke nodded and grabbed the diaper bag from the living room, and they all headed towards the diner.


	5. No naming the child after inanimate

**A/N: I hate this chapter. However, if I look at it any more my brain will explode and I have white couches so that would just make a mess. I do hope you like it. Thank you for the reviews, you're all great.**

**

* * *

No naming the child after inanimate objects!**

"_Ok." Luke nodded and grabbed the diaper bag from the living room, and they all headed towards the diner._ When they reached the town square, Rory looked at them.

"I'll meet you there later."

"You want me to come with you?" Jess asked, kissing her temple softly.

"I'll be fine. Go help Luke, I'll come to the diner when we're done."

"Ok." Rory placed a quick kiss on his lips, then started walking towards Lane's house. As soon as she reached it, she rang the doorbell, waiting impatiently for her best friend to open the door.

"Come in!" She heard Lane's voice from inside and opened the door.

"Lane?"

"Rory!" The young woman appeared from the bedroom, holding a couple of CDs. "Sorry, I was trying to organize the mess the boys made." She hugged her friend quickly. "Did I know you were coming?"

"Nope. Where are the boys?"

"Zach took them to the park to give me a chance to clean."

"Aw, nice."

"Yeah, well, I would have preferred it the other way around but last time he messed my CDs so badly, it took me a week to fix everything. I swear, he just does it to annoy me. Everything is on his computer already but can he just leave my CDs alone? No, sir, he can't!" The young woman ranted, then took a deep breath, looking at her friend. "Sorry. Coffee? Tea? Anything?"

"No, thanks. I have news." Rory grinned.

"Good news?"

"Really good news."

"Don't tell me! Let me guess…" Lane was quiet for a few seconds, then looked back at Rory. "Oh, my God, Jess proposed! You're getting married, aren't you?" She looked at Rory's left hand quickly. "No ring, though but maybe it was a spur-of-the-moment thing. Was it? Was it really cute and awesome and romantic and…"

"Lane!" Rory interjecting, stopping her friend's rambling. "I'm not engaged." She replied, a hint of sadness in her voice.

"Sorry." She looked at Rory.

"It's ok. It's equally exciting."

"What's as exciting as being engaged…unless…? You're not…?"

"Yeah, I am."

"We're talking about the same thing here, right?" Lane tried to make sure.

"I think so. I'm pregnant." She announced again and Lane squealed excitedly, hugging her.

"I'm so happy for you! This is awesome!"

"Yeah, I think so too."

"I want to hear everything about this!" She pointed to the couch. "Let's sit down and you can tell me all about it. When did you find out?" She asked as they both sat down.

"Last night."

"And you're happy about it?"

"Over the moon. I mean, it's not like we planned it or anything but I want kids and this is a good time for this to happen. Certainly better than 4 years ago, when I was still traipsing around the country."

"How does Jess feel about it?"

"He's excited. It's still really new for both of us and we haven't figured anything out yet, but it's all good. He wants to come to the doctor with me and everything."

"That's nice."

"Yeah, it is. He's amazing." She gushed, smiling happily. "He went out this morning and bought me decaf. And is drinking it with me."

"Aw, now that is really sweet."

"The only bad thing about this is that now your mother will hate me."

"Hey, she's finally turning around and starting to like your mother. And it's not like you can be a bad influence on me now!" Lane laughed.

"She really thought I was going to be a bad influence on you?"

"You never went to church. And if she doesn't hate you after living in sin with your boyfriend for years, I doubt this will change that much." She grinned.

"Fair enough, I guess."

"Oh, my God, this is so great!" Lane squealed again, making Rory laugh.

"Everyone is in agreement over that point."

"When are you seeing your doctor? Are you going to find out the sex or make it a surprise? Have you thought of names?" She shot quickly, making Rory laugh again.

"Ok, Lane, last night! Nothing has been decided yet. And we definitely haven't picked any names."

"I'm sorry, I'm just excited. I think I still have some of the boys' things from when they were babies, if you'd like them."

"Anything will help. But don't go dusting anything off yet, we have to move first."

"You're moving? Why?" She asked the same question that Lorelai had asked earlier that morning.

"Our place is too small for a baby. That was decided even before we found out. I mean definitely found out, back when it was still in the suspicion stage."

"How did you find out?"

Rory recounted quickly the events of the previous night.

"How does that thought not cross your mind? I mean everyone else, I can get…but you?"

"I don't know. I think I never thought it could happen. But…I'm happy it has."

Lane hugged her again, smiling happy.

"Coming from the mother of two surprise babies, I know how you feel. Just don't name the child after any inanimate objects!" She laughed, remembering the conversation they had had many years before.

"Damn it, and here I thought Spoon would be a good name."

"Not Fork?"

"Nope. I am willing to offer a compromise and go for Spork, though. Mom keeps calling it Bono or Belinda."

"And Jess is?"

"Working very hard on not killing her. I suppose I'll have to show the same restraint when he tries to convince me to name it Ernest."

"Ernest?"

"Hemingway."

"You're still fighting over that? I still remember the first time you came to me in high school, ranting over how boring and annoying that man was and why did you ever agree to read his book and Jess was so going to pay!"

Smiling at the memory of long ago, Rory nodded. "Well, Jess is stubborn."

"Ever considered a truce?"

"Never!" Rory laughed, playing with her hair. "Anyway, I think I should go. Mom and Jess are waiting for me at the diner and you have to finish your cleaning."

"It's inevitable, I assume. Not that it's going to last for more than 5 minutes."

"The kids get in your CDs that often?"

"Zach does."

"Ah." She nodded, smiling.

"He's a good man, but never seems to grasp the concept of putting things back in their place. And that I get to determine the proper place and he gets no vote."

"See, me and Jess have the Hemingway debate, you have the CD one. Keeps life fun."

"That's because they're idiots that don't want to admit they're wrong."

"I couldn't agree with you more." She replied, standing up and Lane followed. Walking to the door, Rory looked at her friend. "Can I ask you for a favor?"

"Anything."

"Can you keep this a secret? I mean obviously, tell Zach if you want but not anyone else. I know it's silly to even ask but…"

"My lips are sealed."

"Thanks, Lane."

Lane hugged her again, before she opened the front door. "If you need anything? Even if it's just someone to vent to?"

"I'll call. Come visit."

"You better."

"Cars go the other way as well."

Ever since Lane had learned to drive, she had come for the occasional visit. "Don't worry, you're not escaping multiple visits. And give us a call when you move, I'll drag Zach to help."

"Thanks."

"Anytime." She hugged her one last time. "Congratulations!"

"Thank you, Lane."

"Congratulate Jess for me as well, ok?"

"Will do."

"Good. Now go before he kills himself out of boredom."

"He has a book, I'm not worried. And he is supposed to be helping Luke."

"I'll see you soon."

"Definitely." She waved as she started walking towards the diner. Walking in, she found Jess running around, taking orders. When he spotted her, he finished the order he was taking and walked to her, wrapping his arm around her waist and kissing her cheek.

"How was it?" He whispered.

"All good. She sends her congratulations. And we got one more offer of help for when we move, as well as any things she might still have for it." She tried to be as vague as possible.

"That's nice of her."

"Well, she's a nice person."

"Your mother's upstairs, changing the baby. She said she'll be back soon."

"And here she is." Rory smiled, spotting her mother walking from behind the curtain to the old apartment.

"You're finally back! I have someone to talk to!"

"I wasn't gone for that long."

"Well, it seemed longer." Lorelai shot Jess a look, sitting at a table and Rory took one of the chairs next to her. Walking to their table, Jess pulled out the pad again.

"Since you haven't eaten in almost 4 hours, I'm going to assume it's time for lunch."

The two nodded enthusiastically. "Burger, fries, coffee and pie." Lorelai announced and Rory nodded again. "Same. Only…" She smiled at him and he smiled back.

"I know." He replied before heading back to the kitchen, dropping the order then picking two mugs and filling them on the back counter, trying to hide it as well as he could from the inquiring eyes of the other diner patrons. Dropping them on the girls' table, he looked around.

"Food will be done in a bit. Call if you need something."

"Don't worry, we can manage." Rory smiled, squeezing his hand quickly.

"So, how is Lane?"

* * *

After they finished lunch, Rory looked at her mother.

"Sookie's at the inn?"

"Yep. We have this massive convention staying there and they need to be fed."

"Ok. I'll go tell Jess and then we can go."

"Fine."

Standing up, Rory took Jess' hand and dragged him behind the curtain.

"What?" He asked, putting his hand on her waist.

"Me and mom are going to go by the inn and tell Sookie." She kissed him softly, a smile on her lips. "You'll be ok here?"

"Is that your subtle way of asking that I be nice to people?"

"Yes." She kissed him again, laughing as she wrapped her arms around his neck.

"I'll try. Good enough?"

"Yes."

Pulling her close to him, he placed a trail of kisses on her cheek. "Call if you need anything, ok?"

"Don't throw things at Kirk." She kissed him again.

"You're no fun." He fake pouted and she smiled, running a hand through his hair.

"If you're good, I'll let you stay up late tonight watching TV."

"This kid will have no chance to misbehave with you around, will it?" He smirked, running his knuckles over her stomach.

"I'm sure you'll teach it some tricks."

"I am going to choose not to answer that comment." He smirked, kissing her cheek.

"What have I gotten myself into?" She shook her head, smiling as she kissed him one more time. "I'll be back in a couple of hours."

"Ok." Walking back in the dining area, they found Lorelai sitting on a barstool, talking to Luke and holding Will in her arms, trying to stop him from throwing the sugar packets.

"I'm ready to go."

"Ok."

Luke extended his arms and picked up their son, holding him tightly. "You should have some time to yourselves." He smiled at the two women and Lorelai stood up, leaning over the counter and kissing his cheek.

"I love you." Kissing the toddler's head, she smiled. "And you. Be nice to daddy, ok?" He made a few happy noises and Lorelai grabbed her purse, looking at her daughter.

"Ok, let's go before he changes his mind!"

Laughing, Rory squeezed Jess' hand one more time before the girls headed out the door and back towards the house to get the car. They chatted about small things until they were in the safety of the car, where none of the townies could hear them. Starting the engine, Lorelai looked at her daughter.

"I finally have you alone!"

In the meantime, back at the diner, Luke looked at the almost empty place, except for Kirk who sitting at a table by the window and Jess who was reading on a barstool.

"Caesar, we're going upstairs!" He announced, still holding his son.

"No, Luke, you can't do this! You cannot leave me here all by myself! I can't run around, taking orders and watch the food! Do you want the diner to burn down?" The man called back from the kitchen.

"Caesar, come out here."

Stepping outside and looking at the empty room, the man sighed. "Oh."

"Yeah. We'll be up, yell if you're suddenly overwhelmed by customers or something." Walking to his nephew, he looked at him. "Coming?"

Jess put his book down, knowing full well that it was less of a question and more or an order.

"Yeah, sure." He sighed, getting himself ready for the talk that was about to follow.


	6. I'm happy

**A/N: Nothing much to say other then thank you all again for being amazing :). The Luke/Jess talk isn't in this chapter but no worries, grasshoppers, for it will be in a future chapter in flashback form. So sorry if that's disappointing, but I hope the rest isn't. Thank you again, enjoy and leave a review. **

**

* * *

**

**I'm happy**

"_I finally have you alone!" _Lorelai grinned excitedly, looking at her daughter. "How do you feel about this? Really?"

"I am really happy, I promise."

"Really, really?"

"Over the moon, dancing on a rainbow, whatever you want to define it happy. A terrified kind of happy, but still happy."

"Good. But, you know, just in case, no one would think any less of you if you weren't thrilled about it, ok?"

"Mom, I'm happy. I swear. Yes, it wasn't planned and yes, I would have liked this to happen after we got married if Jess ever decides to propose and no, I am not going to open this discussion again about me proposing to him, but now that this has happened, I am happy it has. I want kids, you know that, and I love Jess so much that I can't help but be immensely excited about this."

"Aw, kid…" Lorelai smiled, turning around for a second and put her hand on her daughter's arm. "That's sweet. And now that I know you're excited I get to be excited as well without feeling guilty."

"Yes, we all get to be excited." She grinned happily. "And I get to pick your brains about everything."

"That's why brains are there-to be picked. What do you want to know?"

"Everything!"

"Well, when a man and a woman love each other very much…oh, wait, you already know that part." She accentuated the word 'that', an evil grin on her face.

"There's no chance that that whole 'doing the splits on a crate of dynamite' was just an exaggeration on your part to scare me from getting pregnant at 16, is there?"

"Sorry. But epidurals are your best friend. As is throwing things at the bastard that got you in this mess and so help you, he should just wait until you get your hands on him and he'll pay for it!"

"Ah, yes, I was there. I've never seen Luke so terrified before."

"Poor man. Don't forget to use that guilt when it's 3AM and you've just fallen asleep and the baby starts crying again. Works wonders."

"I will make a note of that." Rory smiled.

"What else do you want to know? Go on, you have a real fountain of wisdom here."

"I don't know. But I will call as soon as I can think of anything else."

"You know this means it's my turn to ask questions so I would think of something fast if you don't want to open that can of worms."

"Ask away." She smiled calmly at her mother.

"Do you want a boy or a girl? Are you naming her Lorelai if it's a girl? Are you naming him Lorelai if it's a boy? Are you really sure you want to tell the grandparents? Are you also sure it's Jess'?" She laughed, not looking away from the road.

"Well, there are a few possibilities…" Rory giggled. "Yes, it's his."

"Good genes, cute butt. Next?"

"I think I kind of have to tell grandma and grandpa. It's not like I can keep it a secret for long. And why did you ever look at my boyfriend's butt?"

"Force of habit. And just tell them there was a sale on chocolate. They're old, how are they ever going to know?"

"Mom, there's a difference between old and blind."

"Punch them in the face and there won't be."

"Nice."

"I try. So, boy or girl? And don't even dare give me the 'I don't care as long as it's healthy' crap. Every pregnant woman says that and they're all lying."

"Girl. No, boy. Girl. I don't know!"

"It's going to be either one or the other. I'm a hundred percent sure of that."

"Boy, I think. A miniature version Jess." Rory smiled happily at the thought of a young boy with dark hair running around.

"Do you want to give Taylor a heart attack? He still hasn't warmed up to the real Jess, even after all these years, and now you want to drop a mini-Jess on him?" She grinned when an idea entered her head. "And even more important, if it's a boy and all that, can I buy him a leather jacket? Because I think the dad will insist on getting him his first bottle of hair gel."

"You are evil." She laughed, looking back at her mother.

"I do my best. I'm trying to teach Will to follow Kirk around when he's at the diner, just to freak him out, but he hasn't picked up on it yet. Soon, my friend, soon."

"So now I have to keep my child away from both you and Jess?"

"No, no, Jess will be useful. He can teach young Lorelai many tricks."

"Mom, I'm not naming the kid Lorelai. It might get slightly confusing if it's a boy!"

"And ruining tradition?"

"We'll debate it further. But this is between Jess and me."

"I know." She reassured her daughter. "I'm just making suggestions."

"Just as long as we're clear on that."

"Crystal." Pulling into the parking lot of the inn, she turned off the engine of the car. "Ready to go tell Sookie? And watch Michel cry like a baby when he figures out that there's news going around and he doesn't know it yet?"

"Should I tell him?"

"Only if you want to."

"He'll be in the second batch, after grandma, grandpa, dad and probably Liz." Rory replied, getting out of the car and waiting for her mother to join her.

"Have you and Jess talked about Liz?"

"Mom, you've been with us pretty much all the time since we found out. Not a lot of time for talking."

"Ok. But if you need anything, which includes moral support when you tell your dad or anyone else because we already decided that I have to be there for the big reveal with the grandparents, you can count on me, you know that, right?"

"I know." She squeezed her mother's arm as they walked inside the inn, waving to Michel who was sitting at the front desk, looking crabby and then hurrying to the kitchen. When they opened the door, they walked to Sookie, who was chopping some carrots and talking to one of the staff members.

"Sookie, put the knife down. We have to talk!" Lorelai giggled excitedly, her arm linked with Rory's and the woman put the knife down, looking at them.

"What is it?"

"Alone."

Sookie looked around her. "Ok, everybody out!" The other people in the kitchen put whatever they were doing down and left the room.

"We could have just gone to my office." Lorelai quipped, smiling.

"Hey, my kitchen, I get to do what I want. What is it? It's not something bad, is it? We're not closing down the inn or anything?"

"No, the inn is fine. This is good news. Great, great news actually." She squeezed Rory's arm. "Well, it's more of her news than mine. Although it's kind of my news as well but I had nothing to do with it and it's way bigger for Rory and…"

"Mom, breath." Rory reminded her, grinning as well.

"Well, I'm excited!"

"So is someone going to tell me so I can be excited with you?" Sookie finally reminded them that she was there, looking from between the two of them.

"Oh, yeah, sorry. Go ahead, kid." Lorelai stepped back and Rory took a deep breath.

"I'm pregnant." She announced again, smiling as she said the words and Sookie wrapped her arms around her.

"Aw, cupcake! I remember when you were…so little…and now…you're…and…" The other woman tried to stay calm but she ended up crying, hugging Rory.

"Sook, that's not a sentence." Lorelai chimed in and the woman stepped back, wiping her face quickly.

"Sorry. It's just that…she's so…and not…" She blubbered again, hugging Lorelai quickly as well.

"Still not a sentence!" She hugged her back, trying very hard not to cry as well.

Letting go of her friend, Sookie fanned her face with her hands. "I'm good. I'm calm." Wiping her cheeks again, she turned around to look at Rory. "I'm so happy for you, angel."

"Thanks, Sookie."

"Aw, you're not a little girl anymore!" She squeezed Rory's arm, smiling happily.

"And soon she's not going to be so little anymore!"

"Hey, I refuse to think about that before I have to."

"Good choice. Not seeing your feet is no one's definition of fun." Sookie smiled.

"Michelle Duggar doesn't seem to mind it." Lorelai quipped. "Though all the banging into things is tons of fun."

"So when did you find out?" Sookie turned her attention back to Rory.

"Last night."

"Any cravings yet? Because anything you want, name it and I'll make it!"

"Not yet." Rory laughed softly. "I still haven't gotten used to the idea completely."

"Ok, honey, see, when someone says that, you say yes, immediately followed by requesting anything chocolate." Lorelai smiled, putting her hand on Rory's shoulder.

"I will keep that in mind for future reference." She smiled.

Sookie walked to the fridge, getting out a measuring cup filled with chocolate squares and handed it to Lorelai. "Here. Leftovers from the cake I made for the convention people."

"Bless you, you are a goddess." Lorelai grabbed the cup, taking a piece out then extending her hand, offering her daughter some and Rory took a few pieces for herself.

"Oh, I'm so happy for you!" Sookie squealed again.

"Thank you."

"And remember to ask for anything you want! Anything as long as it can be cooked, baked or broiled I will make it for you!"

"That's what I have Jess for." She smiled playfully. "Though your cakes are way better."

"How is he? Excited as well?"

"Yeah." She nodded.

"He's starting to get so overprotective. It's awesome. You should see them together."

"Hey!" Rory protested. "What, there's nothing good on TV?"

"Not as good as this."

"Just as long as he doesn't go completely Jackson. Remember the first time?" Sookie laughed.

"Oh, yeah, he wanted to take away your knives!"

"And would never drive past 5 miles an hour."

"Men…" Lorelai shook her head. "Or Luke when he started calling you daily to make sure I ate properly when I was here?"

"Or the all car seat rants?"

"On second thought, hon, your boyfriend making you sit down is still normal." Lorelai smiled at her daughter, taking another piece of chocolate. "We just have to wait and see how crazy he goes. And with him being related to Luke, this will be hilarious to watch."

She was interrupted by one of the kitchen staff members, who cracked the door open.

"Sookie? People are starting to come down for tea."

"Shoot!" The woman yelped, moving back to her chopping board and waving the others back in.

"We'll let you get back to this. Just…it's a secret, ok?" Lorelai told her.

"I won't tell a soul."

"Thanks, Sookie." Rory smiled, giving the woman a quick hug before her and her mother walked back out, finding Michel pouting.

"What's happening?"

"Nothing, Michel." Lorelai tried to stay serious but ended up stifling a giggle when she saw the man huff.

"You kicked everyone out of the kitchen! You have a secret! I demand to know!"

"Michel, there's no secret. We just had to talk about the…um…bonuses for the waiters and everyone else for Christmas and we didn't want them to hear." She covered quickly.

"And why wasn't I invited to this?"

"Because you have to cover the front desk."

"Fine." The man huffed again, crossing his arms across his chest. Shaking her head at his childishness, Lorelai looked at her daughter, smiling.

"Ready to head back?"

"Yeah. See you, Michel."

"Fine, whatever." He snapped back.

* * *

Later that day, after more talking and celebrating, Rory and Lorelai were hugging outside the front door while the two men were looking at them.

"Call as soon as you talk to the doctor, ok?"

"I will."

"And tell her that if she's not nice to you, I will personally hunt her down and kill her."

"Mom, I don't think threatening my doctor would lead to good things."

"You're not. I am." Lorelai smiled, hugging her daughter even tighter. "And call no matter what you need. Or want to know. Just call a lot, ok?"

"Mom, I'll see you again in a couple of weeks for Friday night dinner."

"It's not soon enough." She finally let go of Rory, then turned around to look at Jess. "You better take damn good care of her, you hear me?"

"I will." He smiled softly, then stepped closer to Rory, taking her hand. "Ready to go?"

"We forgot the books." She looked back at him.

"I already dropped them in the car."

"Then we can go." She waved at her mother and step-father quickly. "Bye."

"Call!" Lorelai pointed again and she smiled, nodding then headed for the car, with Jess next to her. As soon as they were back in the car, she kicked off her shoes, putting her seatbelt on and waving at her mother again as the car drove away. When she couldn't see the house anymore, she sighed, resting back on the seat.

"Today was exhausting."

"But good?"

"Really good. Would have liked to spend more time with you, though." She ruffled his hair, smiling.

"What, you don't see me enough?"

"I just feel like we haven't had time to celebrate this together."

He caught her hand in his, placing a small kiss on her palm. "We will when we get home."

"You know celebrating involves more lists, right?"

"Yes." He nodded, smirking. "After all this time, I've picked up a thing or two about you."

"I love you." She ruffled his hair again, then started looking around her. "Where did you put the books?"

"Back seat."

She tried to twist around and grab one of them but she couldn't reach them, making her let out an unsatisfied grumble.

"What?" He asked, trying to pay attention to the road in front of him.

"Can't get to them."

"And it can't wait 'til we're home?"

"Nope. I've already wasted a lot of valuable research time."

"You're insane." He smirked but pulled over the car on the side of the road at the same time. Reaching in the back, he picked up one of the books and handed it to her, then leaned over and kissed her. "Officially insane."

"Well I am having your baby." She accentuated the word 'your'. "I don't know what else that says about me."

"That you really should have made damn sure this wasn't happening?" He chuckled, placing another kiss on her lips. "Guess now you're stuck with having me around."

"And the possibility of mini-you. God, I'm in trouble." She laughed, kissing him happily.

"Let's hope the kid is more mini-you than mini-me then. For everyone's sake, especially the poor thing's."

"Nope." She shook her head, kissing him again. "I've decided. I want a little boy that looks just like you. Crazy hair and all." She ran her fingers through his hair slowly.

"Why would you ever wish that on the poor kid?"

"You see, it's a direct result of being in love with you. I am so blinded by it that I tend to think that you're the greatest guy on Earth."

He cupped her face in his hand, smiling as he kissed her. "I love you too." Kissing her one last time, he turned back and put his seat belt back on, driving away. "But I still say that if the kid knows what's good for him or her, it will look like you. And hopefully, for our sanity, be more like you than me."

"I don't think the world is ready for another teenage Jess. Stars Hollow still hasn't recovered from the original."

"You liked teenage Jess." He pointed out, trying not to laugh.

"Yeah, well, I never said that was proof of great decision making skills, now did I?"

"Not nice, Miss Gilmore. Not nice at all."

"Oh, I'm sorry, did I hurt your feelings?" Rory giggled, jumping from her seat, pulling the seat belt away from her with one hand and kissed his cheek. "How awful of me."

"Yes, it is. Now sit back down and stop distracting me before I crash the car."

"Mean." She pouted, picking up the book she had thrown on the floor, opening it to the first page.

"Just trying to keep both of us alive long enough for that kid to have time to make us wish we had never had children."

"As long as it looks like you and drives us crazy together, it's all good."

"So all would be forgiven if the kid has my irresistible charm?" Jess chuckled, looking at her quickly.

"Hey, it gets you out of trouble every time you annoy me." She extended her hand, tracing his bottom lip with her fingers. "Especially that annoyingly smug smirk."

He kissed her fingers quickly, getting a smile out of her. "The smug smirk is just part of my charm. And it's not annoying."

"Whatever you need to tell yourself." She laughed, messing up his hair again. "Although you have enough reasons to be smug." She leaned over again, kissing the spot just below his ear.

"What did I say about letting me focus on driving?" He glanced at her quickly, rubbing her leg with his right hand.

"I don't remember." She giggled, going back to sitting in her seat. "Pregnancy brain and all that." She stuck out her tongue, making him laugh.

"You know you can't actually claim that yet, do you?"

"Really? So when's the cutoff?"

"I don't know." He admitted. "But just not yet."

"It still doesn't feel real, does it? I mean…we're talking about it and people are asking me a ton of questions but…it doesn't. It probably should but…nope, not yet."

"Ror, it's only been 24 hours. Less than that. Give yourself some time."

"I am. I'm not stressing over this, Jess. It's just not completely real yet. Does it feel like this is actually happening to you?"

"I don't know." He answered after a few second of silence. "Guess that's a no."

"So when do you think it starts being real?"

"Morning sickness?"

"Don't even mention that!" She pointed her finger at him. "I will not think of the uncomfortable bits before they happen and you are not allowed to remind me of them."

"Fine. Then I don't know."

"Oh, ultrasound?" She offered a choice, making him smile.

"And when exactly is that?"

"Mom said around 7 weeks."

"You say that like it's supposed to tell me something. I have no idea how this works." He reminded her.

"Hey, I only have mom and Lane's experiences to go by. At least now we have books."

"Always good."

Rory opened the book to the first page, trying again to focus on reading. After a few pages, she lifted her head and looked at Jess. "Hey?"

"Yes?"

"I'm just…happy. Incredibly happy."

He didn't answer, instead he just cupped her face in his hand, caressing her cheek with his thumb. She put her hand on top of his, squeezing it gently and kissed his palm, then looked down at her book again, a massive smile spreading on her lips.


	7. Not good at this

**A/N: Thank you for the reviews. I love hearing everyone's thoughts on this(and I am making lists with the votes for the baby's sex, since I haven't yet made up my mind...completely). I'll admit that this is one of my favourite chapters so far, so I hope you all like it. **

* * *

**Not good at this**

Later that night, they were back in their house, lying on the bed. Rory was staring at the ceiling, her fingers mindlessly playing on her stomach.

"What are you thinking about?" He asked, putting the book he was looking through on the nightstand and propping himself up.

Rory turned her head to look at him while her hands stopped moving. "You know this baby means that we'll be in each other's life forever now, right?"

"You say that like it's a bad thing." He pushed a strand of hair behind her ear with his free hand, smiling softly.

"No, Jess, that's not what I mean. I don't think it's bad. It's just that no matter what happens between us, we'll always be in each other's life. No way to make a clean break-up, move to the other side of the country, forget the other one ever existed, not without hurting someone else as well or without having this someone there to remind us of what we had. And I don't know if you actually want me in your life forever."

"Ror, ok, I'll give you that we haven't talked about having a kid right now and yes, this kid means that we'll never be able to have that but I don't want that. And we have talked about getting married at some point. Isn't that enough clue that I want you in my life?" He sighed, trying to not get scared at the thought of losing her. "For good."

"Have we talked about it, Jess? Because we haven't mentioned it in almost a year. How do I know you haven't changed your mind and that I'm the only one thinking we're going to be together forever while you are planning on breaking up with me?" She stood up and Jess followed, trying to get close to her but she just stepped back. "Don't. You don't have to be with me just because I'm pregnant."

"Rory, calm down. Where's this coming from?"

"I don't know, ok? I just don't want you to think that because this happened you now have to spend your life with me."

"Not even if I want to?"

"Want to what?"

"Spend the rest of my life with you. Marry you. You, me, kid…have that. Maybe even get a dog at some point." He smiled.

"You're serious?" She asked, still angry.

"Not sure about the dog thing, but yeah, I am."

"Don't you even dare say you want to marry me now!" She snapped, looking angrily at him. "You are not going to propose to me just because you knocked me up!"

"How about if I propose because I love you and have been walking around with a stupid ring in my wallet for the last 3 months?" He replied, trying to calm her down and not chuckle at her choice of words at the same time.

"You…really want to marry me?" She finally realized, biting her lip.

"Yeah. Did it never occur to you that after all this time together I might actually really want to marry you? Actually, did it never occur to you after I told you months ago that I want to marry you that I want to marry you? Because I don't think I could have been more obvious than that, I'm sorry."

"I just…why didn't you say something sooner?"

"Because…" He hesitated a bit, looking down at his feet. "…I was afraid you'd say no. And I was kind of waiting for the right moment."

"You really think I don't want to marry you?" She walked closer to him, cupping his face in her hand. "Jess, I love you. You make me happier than I ever dreamed I could be and really, there is no one else in the world I would rather spend my life with. Just have breakfast with every single day, damn it. Why would you think I would say no?"

"You still haven't said yes." He smirked, putting his hand over hers and placing a soft kiss on her palm.

"You still haven't asked." Rory countered, smiling.

"You're going to make me do this the hard way, aren't you?"

She nodded, still smiling. "Yeah. This is the last time I plan on being proposed to, you better make it good."

"Fine." He grumbled, trying to sound annoyed yet smiling at the same time and pulled his wallet out of his pocket, unzipping a small pocket and picking a ring out of it. Throwing the wallet on the desk next to them, he got down on one knee while Rory looked at him, biting her lip in a desperate attempt to chase a few happy tears away.

"Ok, see this is where I kind of get stuck, because I am trying to find something nice and meaningful to say but damn it, I'm not good at these things. Some are too clichéd, no matter how true they are because yes, you do make me feel like the happiest man alive and no, I really, no matter how hard I try, cannot imagine living without you." Rory let out a small chuckle, a couple of tears rolling down her cheeks and he took her hand in his. "I am sure that there are the not so clichéd things that I could say but I really can't think of any. Hence the whole 3 months thing. But at least I know better than to try to hide the ring in your food or coffee. So I should at least get some credit for that." She laughed again and Jess placed a small kiss on her fingers. "Right, I should get on with this. I love you. I love that you insist on trying to cook every once in a while even though we both know that always ends in disaster and take-away. That you stubbornly refuse to give Hemingway and another chance but still try to make me read Rand. I love that no matter what, you're always there for me, that you worry for me and believe in me and hold my hand when I need you to. That you love me for who I am, even when I'm an idiot. That you barely smiled the one time I brought you flowers, but that you giggle and hug me for ages every time I pick up a book for you. And speaking of smiles, I love the fact that you smile in your sleep when I crawl into bed next to you after staying up late writing, like you were just waiting for that to happen. I love so many things about you…you have no idea. And I would truly be the luckiest man alive if you agreed to marry me."

She stared at him quietly for a few seconds, tears rolling freely down her face. "I thought you said you didn't know what to say."

"I didn't. I'm winging it." He chuckled, giving her hand a gentle squeeze. "So? Marry me?"

"Yes." She managed to choke out, nodding quickly and he slid the ring onto her finger, trying to get up but she knelt down next to him, hugging him and crushing her mouth to his. He slid down slowly until he was lying on the floor, taking her down with him, still not breaking the kiss. He let go of her hand and cupped her face, pushing her hair behind her ear. When she finally pulled back, she smiled, looking at him while he wiped her cheek with his thumb. "I love you, Jess." She kissed him again, then rested her head on his shoulder while he tangled his hand in her hair, his fingers caressing her face softly. She finally lifted her left hand and looked at the ring now shining on her finger. "Wow…"

"You like it?"

"I love it. It's beautiful." She lifted her head and kissed him again, then went back to looking at the ring. "It's absolutely beautiful."

"I'm happy you like it."

"You've really had this for 3 months?"

"Closer to 4 by now." He admitted and she looked at him, smiling.

"Really?"

"I was trying to find the right moment to ask you. This wasn't the way I had planned this."

"Doesn't matter." She lifted her head and kissed him. "It was amazing."

"Really? You think a rambling proposal at the end of a one-sided screaming match was good?"

"Yeah, it was. It was perfect. You are perfect." She kissed him one more time, then rested her head back on his shoulder. "I'm sorry I went crazy. I don't know what was wrong with me."

Jess pulled her closer to him and kissed the top of her head, smiling. "It's fine. Stopped being worried now?"

"Yeah. Now I'm just happy."

"Good."

"God, I can't believe we're getting married." She looked at her finger again, trying to make sure it wasn't a dream. "And having a baby."

"Speaking of which, come on, up before you catch a cold." He stood up, taking her with him.

"You are overprotective." She smiled, kissing the corner of his mouth.

"Don't tell Lorelai."

Rory sat down on the bed, taking his hand and making him sit down next to her. "No promises." She lied back down on the bed and he followed, smiling as he wiped a smudge of mascara he had missed earlier. "Can we get married after the baby is born? I don't want to look like a whale in my wedding dress."

"Sure. We could plan it for sometime in the next few months, though."

"I don't want to hurry this. Let's focus on the baby first and then wedding after he or she is born. And a shotgun wedding was never part of my plan."

"Ok." He nodded again, then looked down at her abdomen, brushing his thumb over it slowly. "You hear that, baby? Your parents are getting married. And you get to be at the wedding. Exciting, isn't it?" He lifted the bottom of her shirt and placed a soft kiss just below her navel, then looked back up, only to find a new batch of tears running slowly down her cheeks.

"Hey…what's wrong?" Jess moved back up cupping her face in his hand, leaning on his right arm and she shook her head, biting her lip. "Ror…?"

"I'm ok." She got out, finally managing to stop her tears. "I just…it feels slightly more real now."

"What?"

"The baby. I think it just truly kicked in. We get to be parents." She kissed him, taking his left hand in hers and squeezing it. "You are so…" She didn't finish her thought, instead she just hugged him, holding him as close to her as she could. Wrapping his arm around her, he kissed her head, smiling.

"So what?"

"So absolutely incredible and amazing and you make me so, so happy. You have no idea."

He kissed her head again, tightening his hold on her.

"I mean it, Jess. You're going to be a great dad. And there is no one else in the world I would rather have this baby with."

He pulled back, letting go of her and cupping her face in his hand, smiling. "Not even the mailman?"

She laughed through tears, kissing him. "Not even him."

"Good." He placed quick kisses on her cheeks and jaw line, making her laugh again. "And everything you said goes the other way. Except for you being a great dad."

Trying to stop laughing, she looked at him. "Really? Damn."

"Sorry." He kissed her and then lied back down on the bed, holding her close to him as she rested her head on his shoulder.

"Can I nominate this weekend as the best weekend ever?"

"On one condition."

"What?"

"You stop crying every other minute." He kissed the top of her head. "I hate it when you cry."

"Even if they're happy tears?"

"Even if. I still get a few seconds to worry before I can determine the exact cause."

"You worry?"

"You have no idea." He kissed her head again, smiling. "And before you start mocking, keep in mind that no matter what imaginary rulebook you use, I'm allowed to be worried when my girlfriend is crying. Especially if it's my pregnant girlfriend."

"Fiancée." She corrected him, grinning and looking at her finger again.

"Fiancée." Jess agreed, smiling. "Now that you're calm and happy, can you please tell me where your earlier moment of madness came from?"

"It just…just happened."

"Remember I live with you and have known you for many years and reconsider that answer."

"When I told Lane, she tried to guess and she first guessed we got engaged. And with the talk about dad today…I don't want our kid to grow up the way we did. I want it to have both of us here. Not occasional visits or once in a blue moon phone calls or even worse, never seeing one of us. I want more for it. Two parents." She looked up at him, smiling sadly as he placed a soft kiss on her forehead.

"It will. I promise." He took a deep breath before continuing. "I am going to do everything I can to make sure this kid has both of us there for him or her, you know that right? Even if I get scared sometimes, like last night, I will make that happen."

She nodded, kissing him. "I know." Going back to resting on his shoulder and looking at her ring, she realized something. "Last night?"

"Talked to your mom. All's good."

"You talked to mom? Really?"

"I was having a bad moment and she was there."

She stayed quiet for a second, the moved up on her pillow, looking straight into his eyes. "You were afraid you're going to be like Jimmy."

He looked at her surprised and she smiled.

"I know you, Jess. And although I'm sure you're over that and mom convinced of this already, you are nothing like him."

He leaned over and kissed her, then pulled back, looking back at her. "I love you."

Running her hand through his hair, she smiled again. "I know. And even if I didn't, your earlier rant would have convinced me of that."

"So no more crazy thoughts?"

"Oh, there will definitely be more crazy thoughts. And more crazy. And you will have to deal with them because I am pregnant with your kid."

"So what you're saying is that I have around 9 more months of craziness?"

"Nope, you have the rest of your life to deal with this. Because after the baby is born and I can no longer pull the pregnant card, I will pull the mother of your child card. Which includes the 'I was pregnant and gave birth to your child' cards so you have no chance of escaping this. I learned my guilt-tripping techniques from mom." She stuck out her tongue, making him chuckle.

"Fine."

"You're giving up so easily?"

"I've been dealing with your crazy for 5 years." He leaned over and whispered in her ear. "Shouldn't be much of a change."

Rory slapped his chest, laughing again. "I am so going to wait until midnight and then start begging for ice cream just for that one."

"Not the first midnight store run I've done for you." He reminded her, smirking.

"Damn it, you're right. You are too nice to me sometimes, you know that?"

"No, I'm not."

She moved forward and kissed him, her fingers running slowly through his hair. "Yeah, you are. And I love you for it."

"So you only love me for being a sap who can't stand seeing you pout and always goes to the store for you, no matter what time it is?"

"Pretty much, yes." She laughed again, rolling until she was almost on top of him and started placing quick kisses on his lips, making him chuckle as well.

"Not nice." Jess settled his hand on the back of her neck, steadying her movements and kissing her. "I'm devastated."

"Oh, I'm sure." She smiled, kissing him again. "Are you going to cry about it after I fall asleep?"

"I might." He started running his other hand up and down her back slowly, holding her close to him.

"Just do it quietly, I have a lot of work to do tomorrow and I would prefer it if you didn't wake me up." Rory smiled again, kissing his bottom lip. "I should go call mom and tell her the news."

"Wait two more minutes, ok?" Jess hugged her and she nodded, placing another small kiss on his lips, then moved down, curling up and resting her head on his chest as his fingers played in her hair slowly.


	8. Confusion and celebration

**A/N: Thank you for the reviews, you guys rock :). **

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**Confusion and celebration **

After a few minutes, Rory heard the phone ring and sat up on the bed, picking it up while Jess watched her. His hand went moved almost instinctively and started rubbing her lower back, making her smile gratefully at him.

"Good timing." She smiled when she saw her mother's number and pressed the green button. "Hey, mom!"

"_Apparently you're engaged!"_ Lorelai laughed at the other end of the phone and Rory looked at Jess, confused.

"How did you know?"

"_Know what?"_

"That I'm engaged."

"_Wait…you're engaged?"_ Lorelai took a deep breath, trying to understand what her daughter was saying.

"Didn't you know?"

"_I'm confused."_

"So am I."

"_Are you?"_

"Am I what?"

"_Engaged!"_ Lorelai sighed exasperated, making Rory laugh.

"Yes. I was getting ready to call you and tell you!"

"_I want to know everything! Leave out a comma and pay for it."_ She threatened and Rory smiled.

"So you didn't know?"

"_Obviously I didn't know!"_

"Then why did you open with that?"

"_I'll explain after you tell me everything, and email me pictures of the ring. And you better do that soon, otherwise I will drive back over there! Now start at the when and work your way from there."_ Lorelai squealed excitedly, sitting down better on the couch, getting ready to listen to the story.

"About twenty minutes ago." She started telling her mother the story, taking Jess' hand in hers, while looking at him.

"God, I'm a sap." He smirked when she reached the part about the actual proposal, placing a small kiss on her hand. She chuckled softly and ran her fingers though his hair, nodding in agreement, then finished her story.

"_Wow…who would have thought that Jess can string that many coherent sentences one after the other? Impressive, I tell you."_ Lorelai laughed, making Rory laugh as well.

"It happens from time to time." She answered, the heard a man's voice say something at the other end of the phone, but couldn't understand what he was saying.

"_Rory and Jess got engaged!"_ Lorelai squealed again and Luke muttered something else. _"Rory, why is my husband saying "Finally!" instead of "Congratulations!"?"_

"How should I know? You're the one that's married to him. Out of the two of us, you should know how his brain works."

"_Luke, care to explain?"_ Rory tried to hear the man's answered but couldn't make out the words, so she looked at Jess who was smirking, trying not to laugh.

"You know something about this."

"I might." Jess agreed, chuckling.

"Are you going to tell me?"

"After you're done with the phone call."

"Mean." She stuck out her tongue and he sat up on the bed, kissing her cheek.

"Just wait until I start making you eat healthy. You're really going to hate me then." Rory shook her head, laughing softly, then kissed him before he went back to lying down on the bed.

"_Rory, Luke's not saying anything." _Lorelai said at the other end of the phone. _"But he did say I have to tell you he is sending his congratulations. And if we can convince Sookie to babysit Will this weekend, we want to take you guys out for dinner to celebrate." _

"Aren't grandma and grandpa coming back this week?"

"_The w__eek after."_

"You have one extra week to live." Rory giggled, looking at Jess.

"Huh?"

"The grandparents aren't coming back until next week, not this one."

"I'll get started on my will." He deadpanned.

"So, now will you tell me why you started the conversation the way you did?" Rory turned her attention back to her phone conversation.

"_Oh, yeah!"_ Lorelai finally remembered. _"Babette saw me leaving last night and then coming back with you guys and apparently Miss Patty went by the inn and Michel told her that we told Sookie a secret that we didn't want to tell him. Also, Kirk saw you going back to Lane's place and adding all that to the fact that it is Sunday and you usually visit for a whole weekend, not just a few hours, they assumed that something major has happened and that that something was that you two got engaged. And cornered me in Doose's, by the way, trying to get the truth out of me. But I didn't tell them a word. Mostly because I didn't know you were engaged."_ She rambled quickly.

"Breathe. And don't tell them. I want to do it."

"_Ok."_ She paused for a second. _"Hey, kid?"_

"Yeah?"

"_Congratulations. He might be annoying and all that, but Jess is a good guy." _

"I know." Rory smiled lovingly at her fiancé, running her fingers through his hair again.

"_And I'm happy for you. Both of you. Now go celebrate and we'll talk wedding plans tomorrow or this weekend. Soon, anyway." _

"Night, mom."

"_Night."_

Putting the phone back on the nightstand, Rory lied back down on the bed, looking at Jess.

"Now would you like to tell me why Luke reacted that way?"

"He's kind of known about this for a long time. And didn't react well to me taking my time doing it."

"How not well?"

"Yelling was involved."

* * *

_Earlier that day, back at the diner. As soon as Jess closed the door to the upstairs apartment behind him, Luke put his son in the playpen, then turned around to look at Jess, stepping closer to the kitchen area of the small apartment._

"_What are you still waiting for?"_

"_How did I know you were going to bring this up?" Jess sighed, running a hand through his hair._

"_Jess, it's been months! You haven't changed your mind, have you? Because I swear, if you do anything to hurt Rory, especially now, I will forget that you're my nephew and kill you!"_

"_No, I haven't. But thanks for being on my side, by the way." _

"_Hey, she's pregnant. And considering how long you've been dragging this, I don't think I have much sympathy left for you."_

"_I want to get this right, ok? For her, not for me. Because trust me, if it was just for me, I would have asked her after I bought the damned ring."_

"_Stop waiting for the right moment and just ask her already! As long as you're honest she's going to love it, no matter how it goes down. It's been…what? 7 months since you first talked to me about this."_

"_Around that."_

"_And how much longer are you going to actually wait?"_

"_If I ask her now, she's going to think that it's because she's pregnant."_

"_Then I can be your witness when you tell her and anyone else who might butt in that you have been planning it for a long time. Very..." Luke accentuated the word. "...long get off your ass and just propose already. Or do you plan on waiting until you're both 80?"_

"_I will. Soon. Good enough?"_

"_Depends on what you understand by soon." _

"_Soon."_

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"Wait, 7 months?" Rory asked surprised.

"Before the 'how the hell am I going to ask this', there was the slight problem of getting a ring."

"You spent 3 months looking for a ring?"

"Well, I wanted you to like it! And do you have any idea how hard it is to buy jewelry for you? All the advice I could find was decidedly moronic. Look at her other rings-the only rings you have are the one you got at your stupid winter carnival and some other trinkets. I doubt that's going to help me much. Ask her best friend for advice-yes, 'cause Lorelai would have been just great at keeping her mouth shut. Has she given you any subtle hints? If you have, they were too subtle for me to notice. Try to approach the subject stealthily-the one time I tried, you were too busy with your ice cream to pay any attention to me. Maybe I should have tried when there was no food around you, not that happens too often. Seriously, couldn't you have just found a ring catalogue and left it on the table one day, with about 10 rings circled? Because that's what the stupid website says you should do!" He sighed frustrated and she looked at him, trying very hard not to burst out laughing.

"Luke, is that you?" She finally started giggling and Jess moved until he was almost on top of her, waiting for her to calm down and stop laughing before he kissed her.

"Not nice."

"I'm sorry, did you hear that rant? He'd be proud. Do you feel the need to buy a flannel shirt? Baseball cap? Truck?" Rory lifted her head and kissed him. "But, if it makes you feel better, I love my ring. Absolutely love it." She cupped his face in her hand, looking at her ring.

"Good. Not sure it was worth wasting that much time looking for it, though."

"I'm not sure it was worth waiting this long to ask, just because you thought I had lost my mind and wasn't going to say yes."

"Well, see, I believe you've lost your mind because you said yes. Because it does mean that you're going to spend the rest of your life with me. And you can't go back on it now."

"I want to spend my life with you. And mini-Jess." She smiled, kissing him again.

"Stop wishing that on the poor child."

"Stop thinking it would be the worst thing that could happen." She countered again, her fingers playing in his hair.

"I will remind of you that comment if we ever come home to find a gnome in the closet."

"Why steal a gnome? Really?"

"I was bored?" He offered half-heartedly, then kissed her forehead, making her smile.

"Fair enough. And before we even start worrying about gnomes and teenage years, we have to make it alive through diapers and toddler temper tantrums."

"No, first I have to make it alive through you being pregnant. Sorry, knocked up. I think that's how you put it." Jess laughed and she glared at him.

"You cannot use what I said earlier. I was angry and irrational."

"And why does that mean I can't use it?"

"Because it would be the mean thing to do." Rory put her arm on his waist, smiling.

"And I suppose you've never used something I said against me."

"Well, I'm pregnant!" She pouted, laughing at the same time, making him smirk and kiss her cheek.

"Great excuse. How exactly is that supposed to explain every time you picked on something I've said in the past few years?"

"I don't know." She shook her head, giggling. "But I will start crying just to win this argument."

"Crazy woman."

"Incredible. That's the word you're looking for."

He shook his head, smirking and kissed her one more time before moving back to his pillow. After a few minutes of silence, both of them lost in their thoughts, Rory looked at him, rolling to her side to see him better.

"How did we go from boyfriend and girlfriend to engaged and future parents in 24 hours?" She smiled, running her hand slowly down his chest.

"Well, I doubt the whole kid thing happened in the last 24 hours. We just found out about it now."

"You know what I mean, Jess."

"Yeah, I do." He nodded, looking at her.

"Don't get me wrong, I'm happy, well, more than happy actually, but if someone would have told me this was how this week was going to end…"

"Ror?"

"Hm?" She looked at him and he motioned for her to come closer. Moving next to him, she smiled and waited for what he had to say but he just kissed her, tangling his hand in her hair.

"Stop thinking."

"I'm sorry, we have met before, right?" Rory laughed, placing quick kisses on his lips.

"Once or twice."

"And, despite that, you expect me to stop thinking?"

"I would prefer it if you wouldn't stress yourself out tonight."

"Can I do it tomorrow?"

"Only if you write down 'freak out' in your day planner."

She made a face, laughing, then ran her fingers across his face, moving her body even closer to his. "You're mocking me, but fair enough." Lowering her hand, she snuck it under his shirt and kissed him. "But only because we still haven't had a chance to celebrate this."

He lifted his head and kissed her, the cupped her face in his left hand and started trailing kisses down her neck and collar bone, smirking. "If you're not going to even go anywhere near coffee…" He started whispering between kisses. "…What are my chances…of celebrating this…engagement…the way I want to?

"Well, you see…" She laughed softly, running her fingers up his chest under the shirt. "While I've yet to find a mention of coffee in my book, page 36 says that…celebrating…" She smiled playfully, kissing him. "…is ok."

"I like page 36." He smirked again, tangling his other hand in her hair as well.

"Very good page."


	9. Peaches

**A/N: Thank you for the reviews, you're all great. **

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Peaches**

Monday afternoon, Rory walked into the kitchen of their flat, finding Jess sitting at the table, his laptop in front of him. Leaning down, she wrapped her arms around him, kissing his cheek.

"Hey, future husband and father of my child. What are you doing?"

Smirking, he turned his head around and kissed her then waited for her to walk next to him and pulled her down so she was sitting on his lap. "Ror, I love you. I am very happy about this baby and if you wanted to, I would marry you tomorrow. But could you please stick to using my name?"

She giggled, kissing the corner of his mouth. "Nope."

"What have I gotten myself into?" He shook his head slowly and she laughed again.

"I don't know, but it's going to hurt." She kissed him softly and he smiled, hugging her closer to him.

"Just for the record, you're turning more into your mother with every passing day."

"You say that like it's a bad thing." She laughed and he shook his head, kissing her again.

"How was your day?"

"Called the doctor. Went back to the pharmacy and bought prenatal vitamins. Everyone at work sends their congratulations on the engagement. Had to work very hard not to blurt the other news yet."

"What did the doctor say?"

"That home tests are very accurate and she would normally schedule me for a visit in a couple of weeks but since this is the first time and she knows how first time mothers to be are, I could go have a blood test done if I wanted to, just to make sure."

"So what time tomorrow?" He chuckled and she made a face, then kissed the corner of his mouth.

"Lunch break."

"Leave me the address and I'll meet you there."

"Jess, you don't have to come. It's a blood test."

"I want to."

"God, I love you." She whispered, cupping his face in her hands and kissing him. When she pulled back, she turned around to look at the computer screen. "What were you doing when I came in?"

"Looking at ads for places to rent."

"Any luck?"

"Not really. Of course, considering that I have no idea what kind of place I'm looking for, that isn't entirely surprising."

"Just…something big enough for all of us?" Rory stood up, pointing towards the full pot of coffee in the coffee machine. "Decaf?"

"Yeah." He nodded. "And what exactly would be big enough for all of us? Because I'm starting to think we might need an office or something like that, just so we no longer have books all over the place."

"Definitely." She nodded, pouring herself a cup of coffee and sitting on the other chair. "Our bedroom is a book-laden death trap for a baby."

"Ok, maybe I wouldn't go that far…"

"Baby crawls, bumps into stack of books…"

"And books fall on him or her, it cries for a while, maybe gets a bruise. I highly doubt a book will kill the kid." Jess smirked, rubbing her knee under the table. "Unless it's your Compact Oxford English Dictionary. That could kill a grown man."

"My point is no more books on the floor until the kid is old enough to know better."

"I'm sorry, but considering you walk into them and knock one of the stacks over at least once a week, what exactly is old enough to know better? Is the kid going to live with us until it turns 30?"

She laughed softly, leaning over and kissing him. "Maybe. And that's why we might need a basement."

"So we're adding Willard to the list of potential baby names? And, for what it's worth, I would really prefer it if it wouldn't take 30 years to have you just to myself again." Jess smiled, squeezing her hand.

"Willard's not even born and you already want him out of the house?" She giggled, looking at him.

"No, I'm just saying it better have a life. Also, I know I started it, but there's no way we're giving the kid a dog's name."

"Willard is not a dog's name."

"I'm sorry, you're not seriously defending that name choice?"

"No, just saying it can be used for humans." She stood up, walking to the fridge. "Better than naming our potential son Bono." She opened the door to the fridge, then peaked her head from behind it, looking back at Jess. "What's with all the fruit?"

"You didn't think I was joking about making you eat healthy food?"

"Jess, baby steps. First we leave the salad on hamburgers. Then we go from ther…oh, peaches!" She exclaimed happily, grabbing one and closing the fridge door again.

"I'm sorry, could you say that again? I believe I just heard you get excited over peaches. I might have to get my hearing checked."

Rory washed the peach and sat back down on her chair, taking a bite out of it. "What?"

"And glasses. Definitely need glasses."

"I'm sorry, you did want me to eat fruit, right? That's why you bought it? Not because you think it might be good decoration for our fridge?"

"I was kind of thinking I will have to wear you down. Maybe after two weeks of getting tired of pushing the healthy stuff out of the way to reach the Chinese leftovers, you'd give it a try."

Biting down on the peach again, she smiled, crossing one leg under her on the chair. "This is so good. Why did we never have peaches in the house before?"

"Because they would have rotted before you even went near them? And I'm pretty sure you can cancel that blood test now."

"You know, it's not nice to mock the woman that's pregnant with your child."

"Ever think that maybe I'm not a nice guy?" He smirked, rubbing her knee again.

"Most of the time." She smiled back at him, leaning in a kissing him. "But I love you anyway."

"Good to know."

Rory stood up, throwing the pit in the trash and then leaned in and kissing his cheek, as he wrapped one arm around her. "I'm going to go and sleep for a bit. Join me?"

"And apartment hunting?" Jess pointed to the computer screen and she shook her head.

"It can wait." She straightened up and took his hand, while he turned off his computer and they both walked to the bedroom.

* * *

The next day, at the doctor's office, Rory was sitting in a chair in the waiting room, waiting to be called in. After a few minutes, Jess walked in, holding a cup of coffee in his hand. Spotting her, he sat down in the chair next to hers, leaning over and placing a small kiss on her lips.

"Sorry I'm late, traffic was insane." He handed her the cup, smiling. "Here you go. Decaf."

"Thanks. They're running a bit behind." She smiled, taking the cup from him and then taking his hand in hers, squeezing it tightly.

"What's wrong?" Jess leaned over and whispered in her ear, lifting their hands and kissing her fingers softly.

"Nothing…I'm just…worried it won't actually be real. That we'll get a phone call in a few days saying it was all a mistake. It's stupid." She tried to brush it off and he let go of her hand, wrapping his arm around her instead and kissing her temple.

"It's not stupid." He rubbed her arm and she rested her head on his shoulder. "But it will be ok."

"I really want this baby."

"I know." He kissed the top of her head, trying to find the right words but before he could say anything, a nurse walked up to them.

"Miss Gilmore? Laura will see you now."

"Thanks." She stood up and Jess followed, taking her hand and squeezing it reassuringly.

"It will be ok, I promise."

Turning around to look at him, Rory smiled and brushed her thumb over his hand, then they both walked inside the office, where a middle aged woman wearing a white coat greeted them at the door, smiling warmly.

"Good to see you again, Rory."

"Good to see you too."

"Go on, sit down." The woman pointed to two chairs, then sat down as well on the other side of a desk. "He's the dad?" She pointed at Jess and he smirked.

"Nope, I just tag along to doctor appointments. I have weird hobbies."

Laughing softly, the woman looked at Rory. "I like him."

"He's not all that bad." She smiled, squeezing his hand.

"Ok, let's deal with this first. How many tests did you take?"

"Three." She answered and Jess shook his head, trying not to laugh.

"As Debra told you on the phone, home tests are really accurate so don't worry about that. You're definitely pregnant, ok?"

"Just want to make sure."

"I know. Before we get on with the blood test, do you have any questions?"

"Can I drink coffee?"

"There are about a million studies about it and they all contradict each other, because that's what we doctors do. But if you stick to something around a cup a day, it's fine. Just don't go too overboard with it."

"Ok. Thanks."

Pointing to the paper cup in Rory's hand, the doctor smiled. "Decaf?"

"I'm paranoid."

"I prefer you this way. Other than the coffee thing, no drinking or smoking, obviously, because while some coffee won't harm the baby, a bottle of gin a night will."

"But vodka's fine, right?" Jess deadpanned, making the two women laugh.

"Yeah, sure, why would that be a problem?" The older woman smiled at him. "Stay away from all alcohol, eat as many vegetables and fruit as you can, but, if you do get morning sickness and the only thing you can eat are biscuits or chicken wings or whatever, don't feel guilty over it. The goal is to have both mom and baby happy and fed, ok?"

"Ok." Rory nodded.

"Other than that, if you have any pain, cramping or bleeding, call me and go to an emergency room immediately."

"Yes."

"You'll make sure of that?" She looked at Jess and he nodded.

"Definitely."

"Good." Drinking from her own cup that was on the table, she smiled again. "So, what do you want it to be? Boy or girl?"

"Boy. I think."

"And you?"

"Girl. Just so Rory has something to fight with me over." Jess looked at his fiancée, who smiled back at him. "And because if I say I don't care, she'll kick me to the couch again."

The older woman laughed again, looking at them. "You should come to all the appointments. You're way funnier than most of the future dads I see. When I see them."

"Don't tell him he's funny! He might believe it." Rory smiled playfully at both of them.

"I'm sorry, I don't think I actually caught your name…?"

"Jess." He shook the other woman's hand.

"Laura. Or Dr. Jones, if you feel like being formal, not that anyone is around here or that you won't get people looking at you like you're mad if you call me that."

"I'll keep that in mind."

"So, any other questions or can we get going with the blood test?"

"Nope, I think we're fine." Rory nodded.

"If you think of anything else, call me. There's always someone here to answer questions." Picking up her phone, she pushed one of the buttons. "Debra, can you send Jane in to take some blood?" After a short pause, she nodded. "Thanks." Looking back at Rory and Jess, she smiled again. "She'll be here in a minute."

"Thank you."

"No problem. So, how excited is everyone over this baby?"

"Baby books, list making, have to move now excited." Jess smirked. "Which in her world, is about a 50 on a 1 to 10 scale of excitement."

"Don't suppose there's a pill that will make him stop mocking me, is there?"

"Just make a list of all the comments he makes, then mysteriously start craving something crazy in the middle of the night so he has to go get it for every single one of them. That's what I did."

"How's Tommy?"

"Started kindergarten a couple of months ago. There's nothing like a kid to make you realize how old you actually are."

After a short knock on the door, another woman walked in and smiled at everyone, then walked to Rory. "Can you just hop on the table for me for a second?"

"Sure." Rory stood up and Jess walked with her, holding her other hand while the nurse drew the blood. Once she was done, she smiled again and walked out of the room.

"Needles suck."

"Oh, I agree." Laura let out a small chuckle. "So, we should have the results of that in a couple of days and I'll give you a call. Other than that, I can schedule you for an ultrasound in…3 weeks? Tuesday before Thanksgiving, so you can share pictures with everyone over dinner?"

"Yeah, that's fine. Can we make it for lunch again?"

"Sure." The woman wrote down the date quickly in her notebook. "Just remember to tell Debra on your way out, so she can do the official scheduling."

"Ok. Thank you so much."

"You're welcome."

Rory and Jess stood up, and the other woman followed. Smiling, she shook Rory's hand. "Congratulations."

"Thank you."

Shaking Jess' hand as well, she looked at him. "It was nice meeting you. And congratulations to you too."

"Thanks. Nice meeting you too."

"I'll see you in a few weeks, then."

"Yes, you will." Rory nodded, picking up her cup of coffee from the table and they both walked to the door. "Thank you again."

"My pleasure. Babies are fun." Laura smiled as they walked out, waving. After Rory signed up for her next appointment, they both walked out and Rory hugged Jess, smiling happily.

"Thank you for being there."

"I wanted to be there. And she seems nice."

"She's awesome. And…she said that it's real."

"I heard." Jess smiled, putting his hand on the small of her back and pulling her closer to him. "Feeling better about this now?"

"Yes. Of course, I can offer no guaranties that I won't be worried again in three hours."

Pulling back a bit, Jess kissed her, cupping her face in his other hand. "Just call me if that happens and I'll remind you of what the doctor said."

"I will." She kissed him one more time before letting go of him. "I have to get back to work."

"Ok." Placing a small kiss on her lips, he opened his messenger bag and pulled a couple of smaller bags out of it. "I kind of figured that you won't have time for lunch so here you go. I stopped for food before I came here." He handed her the bags. "A couple of sandwiches and some peaches, just in case that's still sticking."

"Jess…" She whispered, crushing her mouth to his. "You're amazing."

"Leave the tomatoes on this time, will you?"

"I will." Rory smiled and he kissed her softly. "I have to go if I don't want to be late."

"Ok. I love you." Jess reminded her and she dropped the bags in her purse, then squeezed his hand in hers, smiling again.

"Love you too."


	10. Well trained

**A/N: Thank you for the reviews, I hope you enjoy this chapter(and wow, chapter 10 already!).**

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* * *

Well trained**

A couple of days later, Jess walked in the apartment, only to be greeted by Rory jumping up from the couch and hugging him. After a few seconds of shock, he finally put his arms around her as well, kissing her cheek.

"Miss me that much?" He smirked and she nodded, crushing her mouth to his. When she pulled back she smiled, letting go of his neck and letting him finally drop his bag.

"Yes. And Laura called."

"And?"

"And I'm really, officially, doctor said so, blood test confirms it, pregnant."

"Good." He cupped her face in his hands and kissed her. "Not that it wasn't sure the first time she said it, or when your test said it, but…"

"But don't mock me. You're not allowed to be mean to me today."

"When am I mean to you?"

"When you're late coming home from work and I have to worry about you?"

"That's not mean, that's traffic. And work. The second one of which is kind of important if we actually want this kid to not sleep on the floor." He kissed her, running his fingers down her back slowly. "Can I walk inside now or are we going to stand here all day?"

"You can come in now." She kissed him one more time and he shook his head slowly, then walked in, crashing on the couch. Sitting down next to him, Rory ran her fingers through his hair. "Long day?"

"Kind of. Lots of things to do."

"Sorry." She smiled sympathetically and he stopped her hand, placing a quick kiss on her palm.

"How was your day?"

"Not bad."

"Eat well?"

"Yes. Had milk with my cereal, and I finished it even after the cereal was gone, left the salad and the tomatoes on my sandwich. All good. Oh, and we're out of peaches."

"Again?"

"Yeah, well, they're good."

Pulling her closer to him, Jess kissed her, his hand playing in her hair. "I'll buy some more tomorrow. Anything else you want?"

"Not really."

"Ok. If you can think of anything, give me a call and I'll grab it on my way home, ok?"

"I have you well trained." She laughed, crawling closer to him on the couch and putting her legs over his.

"Next you'll teach me to bark on command."

"Will you do it for a treat?"

"Depends on the nature of the treat." He whispered in her ear, kissing her neck. "Anything else exciting happened today?"

"Not really. Got home early and have been lounging on the couch since, trying to not fall asleep while looking for an apartment."

"This tired thing hasn't gone away yet, has it?"

"Nope." She rested her head on his shoulder and he put his arm around her waist, hugging her close to him.

"Sorry." He kissed the top of her head, making her smile. "Any luck finding a new place?"

"Not really. Any disasters happen at work?"

"Nothing out of the ordinary. One of Matt's poets got him drunk last night so he was in a bad mood."

"Which I'm sure you and Chris helped by being as loud as possible."

"Eh, that's what he deserves for going out on a school night." He let out a small chuckle. "But after we pulled out the loud music, he admitted that he had gone out with Jane."

"Again?"

"Oh, yeah."

"Which you then proceeded to mock."

"Hey, he's making it too easy."

"Evil." She leaned in, kissing him. "Want some coffee?"

"Is there any in the pot?"

"Decaf."

"I'll take it." Jess nodded and she got up, running her fingers through his hair one more time before going to the kitchen and coming back with a mug filled with coffee. Handing it to him, she smiled.

"Here you go."

"Thank you." He replied, smiling back at her as she sat down next to him again.

"You know that while I appreciate the gesture, you don't have to drink decaf with me, right?"

"I know. But, the way I figure, I might as well. Making two different pots of coffee is crazy when we only have one machine and I get enough real coffee at work. And you're the caffeine addict here, not me."

"Oh, yeah, 'cause you never ever drink too much coffee."

"Your fault." He pointed his finger at her, smirking. "You're a bad influence."

"Oh, please." Rory snorted, trying not to laugh. Pulling her in for a kiss, he tangled his hand in her hair.

"Are you trying to say anything with that comment?"

"No. I'm definitely the bad influence here. You're just a poor innocent boy who's being corrupted by my evil ways. After all, I did make you watch _Godfather _last week."

"If anyone needed more proof…" He chuckled, kissing her one more time before he let go of her neck. Crossing her legs under her, she looked at him, her hand resting on his knee.

"I was wondering today if you want to tell Matt and Chris about the baby."

"I don't know. Can I tell them?"

"Jess, of course you can." She lifted her hand, caressing his cheek slowly. "This isn't just my thing. If you want to tell them, you can."

"I thought you didn't want a lot of people to know about it."

"Yes, but they're your friends. It's not like we're talking about two random people in the street."

"I believe random people in the street would be completely uninterested in this."

"Unless they're in the street of Stars Hollow, then they would be very, very interested."

"They're interested in what brand of shampoo we use."

"No, that's just Kirk. And he only asked twice." She laughed, leaning in and kissing him quickly. "But it feels like everyone who knows about this is someone from my side, so to speak."

"How about Luke?"

"He's shared custody. He might be your uncle, but he's my step-father as well." She giggled again, making him smile.

"Do you want to be there when I tell them? They're kind of shared custody friends after all this time."

"I can't skip work."

"I was thinking more like asking them over for dinner and a movie."

"Oh, good idea. You're clever sometimes."

"Just sometimes?" He smirked, kissing her quickly.

"Wouldn't want you to start thinking too much of yourself." Rory cupped his face in her hand, running her thumb over his lips. "See if they can make it tomorrow night. And, after we tell them, you'll have someone to complain to when I become completely unreasonable and insane."

"You mean more than you already are, right?" Jess laughed, placing a small kiss on her finger.

"Didn't I say you have to be nice to me tonight?"

"I'll try harder."

"You do that." She replied then kissed him, lowering her hand to hold his. "Can we do take-away for dinner?"

"Sure. Can't say I feel too much like cooking anyway."

"Maybe you should have found a girl that cooks then. Someone to wait for you to come home from work every night with dinner ready on the table."

"You mean I could have had that? Damn it, couldn't you have said something before I proposed to you?"

"Nope." She leaned in, putting her hands on either side of him and kissed him. "This way, I get to spend the rest of my life with you. So I'm sorry, but there's no turning back now. You're stuck with me."

Putting his hand on the back of her neck and kissing her again, he smiled softly. "I've had worse offers."

"Even if I don't cook for you?" She smiled as well, looking into his eyes.

"Even if." He kissed her one more time before letting go and she settled back on the couch, her fingers playing in his hair slowly.

"Since we were talking about telling people, when are we telling Liz about this?"

"I don't know. How long can I postpone it for?"

"Until the town finds out?" She suggested. "Which isn't going to be for another couple of months, at least. But she should hear it from you, not Miss Patty or anyone else."

"I know." He sighed, looking at her. "Can't say I'm looking forward to that conversation."

"You know I'll be there next to you, right?"

"Yeah." He nodded, smiling. "But she'll gush and hug me and all that crap. And I swear I'll kill TJ if he says anything beyond 'congratulations'."

"Why?"

"Because he feels it's his duty to give me advice. And I really don't care to hear his opinions on parenting. I'm still shocked Doula isn't completely insane, with him and the rebranded, new-and-improved Liz as parents."

Leaning in, Rory placed kiss on his temple, smiling. "I'll take TJ, so he stays away from you."

"But that leaves me with Liz." He smirked, looking at her.

"You have to pick one. I can't distract them both while you hide."

"Can't we just make Luke tell them?"

"Don't you think she should hear that she's going to be a grandmother from you?"

"Not really." He shook his head, trying not to laugh. "Especially considering that I don't want her to have any role in this kid's life." He suddenly became more serious and she nodded.

"Ok. You decide the limit of her involvement." She took his hand in hers, squeezing it softly. "What about the engagement?"

"What about it?"

"Are we telling her before the town or just wait until she finds out?"

"I don't know." Jess shook his head. "Probably should be before. Give me some time to think about it."

"Ok." She leaned in and kissed him. When she pulled back, he smirked, pushing a strand of hair behind her ear.

"You excited about telling the town?"

"Yeah. I want to see Taylor's head explode when he figures out you're sticking around for good. It will be even better when he finds out about mini-Jess. Not that the engagement isn't equally exciting, but he'll go postal thinking about all the things that could go wrong in his town."

"To be fair, he'll probably be dead before the kid becomes a teenager."

"Hey!" She slapped his shoulder playfully. "No talking about people I like dying."

"You like Taylor?"

"Yeah!" Rory protested again, making him shake his head and kiss her quickly.

"Fine. He'll be alive and well to be tortured by our child, when it becomes a teenager and decides to torture everyone. Especially us."

"At least he'll have good taste in music, for when he decides to blast music as loud as possible because he hates us."

"It."

"What?"

"You said he."

"Yeah, well, I got bored of calling our baby it. Makes me think of the clown. Or cousin It. I'm not sure which one is worse."

"I'm sorry, you already know it's a boy?"

"No, but I think I'm going to take turns. It's a boy until next week, a girl for a week after that…you get the point."

"Can I stick to using it, or do I have to keep track of your insane schedule?"

"You can stick to whatever you want." She kissed him, smiling through the kiss. "Now can we get food? I want to eat before I crash and sleep for a week."

"Or until tomorrow morning."

"Whichever one comes first." Rory laughed, picking up the phone from the table and getting ready to order dinner.


	11. Nice guy

**A/N: Thank you for the reviews, you're all so great. Keep sending in votes for the baby's sex and name suggestions. I'll try to work in as many of them as I can. Thank you again and I hope you enjoy this. I have too much fun writing Matt and Chris. **

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Nice guy**

The next morning, Jess walked into the Truncheon office and poured himself a cup of coffee, while waiting for the other two guys to come in. A few minutes later, a tired looking Matt walked in and headed straight for the coffee machine, picking a cup and filling it.

"Tired again?"

"Jane. Drinking. Too old for this." The man grumbled, crashing down in his chair and drinking from his mug.

"You going out again tonight?"

"No way. She's going out of town for the weekend anyway."

"Aw, your girlfriend's going away?"

"She's not my…" Matt tried to protest but ended up shaking his head. "Oh, who the hell am I kidding? Yeah, she's going home to see her folks." Picking up a pen and throwing it at Jess' head, he started laughing. "And you're the one who's getting hitched so shut the hell up."

"So this means you're free?" Jess sipped from his mug, lifting the pen after catching it before it hit him to show Matt.

"Why? You want to go out drinking?"

"I thought you were too tired for that?"

"Eh, well, I'm never that tired." Matt laughed, looking at him.

"No, actually Rory wanted to know if you guys wanted to come over for dinner. It's the last Friday before her grandparents come back and that nightmare begins again and we want to celebrate getting engaged. Get you a few drinks, some food. The usual. Maybe throw in a movie. But if you want to go out, I'm sure she won't mind the change in plans."

"Oh, wow, impressive."

"Huh?"

"A lot of sentences strung together and this early in the morning."

Throwing the pen back at his friend's head, he smirked. "So, coming or not?"

"Yeah, sure, why not?"

"The excitement is just overwhelming."

"I still hate you for yesterday."

Jess tried to say something but Chris walked in the room, he too heading straight for the coffee machine and pouring himself a cup.

"Morning." He nodded, waving.

"Dinner, tonight, my place. Coming?" Jess asked, walking to his desk and sitting down.

"It's not like I can say no to such a heartfelt invitation. Any occasion?"

"Celebrate the engagement and all that."

"So this is basically a 'come eat and drink because you finally got off your ass and decided to do something right'?"

"If you want to put it that way."

"How could I miss the celebration of that?" Chris smiled, turning on his computer and getting ready to start working.

* * *

Later that night, they were all sitting around the living room, talking excitedly, waiting for dinner to come.

"Jess, you see, I only said yes because I thought there would be some cooking. I can do take-away by myself!" Chris protested, drinking from his beer bottle.

"Yeah, well, you eating by yourself is not exactly celebrating with us, now is it?" He shot back, his hand resting on Rory's knee.

"Oh, stop whining." Matt chimed in from his chair, looking at Chris.

"The fact that Jane cooks for you now doesn't mean I can't complain. Or that you wouldn't have been complaining about the same thing a few months ago. Or that, you know, you couldn't bring some of those cookies you keep bragging about to work one day." Chris replied, looking back at his friend.

"Yeah, well, no one is saying you can't find someone as well."

"Nope. I have decided to be the last bastion of bachelorhood at Truncheon."

"We'll get you a sign saying that." Matt laughed.

"I was thinking more like business cards."

"Only if you never want to get a date again in your life." Rory smiled as well, picking up her cup of decaf coffee.

"Why?"

"No sane woman would go out with a guy that has that written on his card."

"Well, not unless they're only looking for the same thing I am." Chris chuckled, making the other three shake their heads, trying not to burst out laughing as well.

"Ok, so before dinner comes and all that, we kind of have something say." Jess smirked and Rory took his hand, kissing his shoulder quickly.

"Oh, God, if now comes the 'we're so happy that you're here to celebrate this joyous future union with us' speech, I will throw things at you. I mean it!" Chris threatened, making everyone else laugh again.

"No, this is kind of unconnected to that."

"You're quitting?" Matt suddenly looked worried. "Tell me it's not that!"

"It's not that. It's good news." Rory smiled, squeezing Jess hand quickly.

"Oh, good." Matt let out a breath and Chris drank from his bottle again.

"So, are you ever going to tell us?"

"Go ahead." Rory whispered, looking at Jess and he took a deep breath, trying to find the right way to say it.

"Rory's…" He hesitated for a bit, before changing his mind. "We're going to be parents."

After a few seconds of stunned silence, Chris was the first one to react.

"Wait, so you're pregnant?" He looked at Rory and she nodded.

"Baby!" Matt finally exclaimed happily, making the other ones laugh.

"Yeah, that's usually the result of pregnancy." Jess smirked.

"Oh, shut up." He sighed, frustrated, getting up and walking to Rory, then waited for her to stand up as well and hugged her, smiling. "Congratulations!"

"Thanks, Matt."

"Can I put myself down for the list of potential babysitters? Please?"

"You're going at the top of it."

Waiting for Jess to stand up as well, he shook his hand, still smiling. "Congrats to you too. Let's just hope the kid doesn't get any of your genes."

"Great friend you are." Jess smirked while Matt decided that the occasion called for a hug, so he wrapped his arms around his friend, pulling back as quickly as he had done it. "Congratulations. Both of you. And I demand to be Uncle Matt."

"Definitely." Rory reassured him, grinning.

Chris stood up and walked to them, smiling as well and walked to Jess, shaking his hand. "Congratulations." She moved closer to Rory and hugged her. "And I'm with Matt, let's hope this child takes after you."

"Aw, really? Because I'm kind of hoping that it will look like Jess." She smiled, moving closer to Jess and wrapping her arm around his waist.

"That's because you like him. We don't." Matt snickered, sitting back down in his armchair and picking up his bottle again.

"Eh, well, he's nice to me." She kissed his cheek quickly, then sat back down and the other two guys took their seats again.

"So, when did this happen?" Matt snickered excitedly.

"We found out a few days ago. Saturday. Oh, wow, almost a week now."

"You're some of the first people to know." Jess nodded. "After Lorelai, Luke and a couple of other people from Stars Hollow."

"That's an honor." Chris smiled, drinking from his bottle. "Can I get that on a sign?"

"You think that's sign worthy?"

"I have very few things in my life." The young man laughed. "At least few things worthy of being put on signs."

"So, when's the baby due?" Matt chimed in the conversation.

"Beginning of July. The 5th if you want to be precise." Rory smiled again, putting her arm around Jess' waist.

"This is going to be so much fun!"

"You're only saying that because you don't have to deal with her." Jess pointed at Rory, smirking and Matt laughed, picking up a pillow and throwing it at his head.

"Be nice to your pregnant fiancée."

"Thank you!" Rory laughed gratefully, looking back at Jess. "Maybe if someone else tells you, you'll listen."

"Oh, please, I'm always nice to you." He protested, then looked back at Matt. "And you stop throwing things at me. Or you're getting every single one of her grandparents' presents for every gift giving occasion from now until the end of time."

"Including the garish coat hanger?"

"That's the first thing you'll get."

"Oh, great, you hate me."

"What gave you that idea?" Jess smirked, picking up his bottle again and drinking from it.

"Threatening with the coat hanger? That's just cruel. Beyond cruel. Someone call one of those societies that help people in need."

"Which one?"

"Just pick one!"

Rory tried to reply, but the doorbell rang and she tried to get up and get up and answer the door but Jess put his hand on her leg, keeping her down. "I'll get it."

"Crazy." She shook her head and he smiled before heading for the door, leaving the other three to chat.

* * *

Later that night, Rory was in the bedroom, lying down on the bed and reading. Walking into the room and crashing down on the bed, Jess kicked his shoes off, crawling up until he was next to her.

"Kitchen is clean."

"Thanks." She smiled, putting the book down on the nightstand.

"Don't worry about it." He pulled her down on the bed, making her laugh and kissed her. "What where you reading?"

"Pregnancy book. It's good. You should read it after I'm done with it."

Kissing her one more time, Jess reached for the book and looked at the title. "Ror, I'm the first one to admit I'm completely domesticated. I'm the one that cooks around here, I do my part of the cleaning…"

"Do you have a point?" She interrupted him, smiling.

"Yes. I even put my dirty clothes in a hamper, for fuck's sake. However, I will not read a book called _'The girlfriends' guide to pregnancy'_, got it?"

"Don't say that word!"

"What word?"

"The f-word."

"Why? So our earless embryo doesn't pick it up?" He chuckled, making her laugh as well, despite her attempt to stay mad at him.

"Way to be nice to our child."

"Hey, I'm just providing an accurate description. And seriously, growing up around Matt and Chris will lead to this child learning every bad word in the book before it turns three."

"He better not!" She sighed, running her fingers through Jess' hair. "Just…I don't him to be sent home from kindergarten for cursing."

"How about setting off the fire alarms?" Jess laughed, putting his hand on her stomach under her shirt and caressing her skin with his thumb.

"You wouldn't do that."

"I refuse to comment any further on that subject." He smirked, kissing her.

"Ok, just for the record-kindergarten, school, college for all I care, calls and says our kid got in trouble for a prank he pulled? You're the one that has to deal with them. And by that I mean solve the problem while making sure the child stays in said school."

"Or?"

"Or I'm grounding you both." Rory laughed again, cupping his face in her hands and kissing him.

"Fair enough."

"Oh, by the way, mom called. She couldn't find anyone to babysit this weekend, so celebration dinner will have to wait until next week."

"This means we're going back to Stars Hollow with them after dinner with Wicked Witch of the West?"

"Hey, be nice to grandma!" She protested.

"Wicked Witch of the East?" He smirked, pulling her closer to him. "And she hates me anyway, I can be mean to her when she's not here."

"You're stubborn."

"Tell her that, she's the one that still hates me for high school."

"Anyway…" She sighed, knowing he had a point and she wasn't going to win that debate. "Yes, if it's ok with you, we're going to Stars Hollow."

"Yeah, it's fine."

"Really?"

"Well, Matt did say that I have to be nice to you. I have a feeling he'll kill me if I don't listen." He chuckled, leaning in and kissing her. "We can go tell Liz about the engagement and maybe the baby on Saturday."

"You mean that?" Rory smiled, cupping his face in her hands, happy.

"Yeah." He whispered against her mouth, kissing her softly.

"Thank you."

"For what?"

"Giving her a chance."

"I wouldn't go that far. But I'm trying."

"Thank you for trying then." She lifted her head, kissing him again.

"You're still taking TJ."

"That's fine with me." She smiled, letting go of his face and tangling her hands in his hair instead. "Thank you."

He shook his head, smiling at the same time then kissed her, moving his hand back to her abdomen. "You're going to turn me into a nice guy."

"Too late, you're already nice."

"Still your fault." He pointed out, nuzzling her neck.

"Yes, I made you nice, now I'm going to make you a dad…I'm just ruining your street cred."

"Doesn't matter." He whispered, moving up and kissing her cheek as she smiled. "I like it this way."


	12. Disgusting, you idiot

**A/N: It's my birthday today so I'm in a great mood which means bonus chapter. Exciting isn't it? I'll resume the Sunday posting on...well, Sunday. Thank you for the reviews and I hope you enjoy this chapter.**

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Disgusting, you idiot**

A few days later, Rory walked in the kitchen, grimacing as she saw Jess cooking.

"What are you doing?"

"…Making breakfast?" He hesitated slightly, then turned around to look at her. "Why?"

"I hope you don't expect me to eat that." She pointed to the stove and opened the door to the fridge, looking around.

"What's wrong with pancakes?"

"They're disgusting." She sighed, slamming the fridge door shut again. "Why don't we have anything to eat in this house?"

"The fridge is full."

"Yes, full of disgusting food."

Turning the stove off and pushing the pans away, he walked to her, wrapping his arms around her waist from behind and kissing her shoulder blade. "What's wrong?"

"You mean other than the fact that we have nothing to eat? Nothing. Nothing is wrong." Rory huffed, pulling away from him and picking up an empty cup, pouring coffee in it. Sipping from it, she grimaced again, putting it back down on the counter. "Ugh, this is awful."

"Coffee is awful?"

"Yes, it is! God, are you having a stupid day or what?" She snapped again, opening the freezer door and looking around. "Why do we have chocolate ice cream? Are we both crazy?"

"Ror, I'm going to need to buy a vowel here. You don't eat any other type of ice cream unless it's on top of pie. Why is it suddenly a bad thing?"

"It just is! Chocolate is disgusting."

"Were you abducted by aliens last night?"

"Oh, go on, be funny. Just what I need." She grumbled, leaving the kitchen and sitting down on the couch. Following her, Jess sat down on the coffee table in front of her, putting his hand on her knee.

"We need to buy food. Everything we have is disgusting." She sighed, biting her lip.

"Yes, I got that. What's not disgusting?

"I don't know." She shook her head, making him sigh.

"Peaches?"He offered and she shook her head.

"Ugh, no."

"Any other type of fruit or vegetable?"

"No."

"Fried chicken?" He smirked and she glared at him.

"Mention something that's even worse than pancakes, will you?"

"What?"

"That was a no. You're really not smart today, are you?"

"I'm just trying to understand what's going on here." He squeezed her knee, trying to smile. "Are you sick?"

"No. Just…the thought of eating anything is…"

"I know, disgusting. I got that." He smirked, getting a smile out of her. "So it's not morning sickness?"

"Well, I'm not sick, so no. But if you offer one more thing to eat, I probably will be."

"Ok, no more food." He took her hand in his and placed a small kiss on it. "Coffee is out, how about tea?"

"No." She shook her head again.

"Hot chocolate?"

"No."

"So is there anything you can think of that will not make you sick?"

"I don't think so. Not right now anyway."

"Ok." Jess nodded, putting his other hand on her leg. "If you can think of anything, give me a call and I'll pick it up on the way home from work, ok?"

"Don't be nice to me." She sighed, biting her lip.

"What?"

"You shouldn't be nice to me after I spent the last 10 minutes calling you an idiot and generally being a bitch to you."

"Eh, well, I like being nice to you." He leaned in, stopping just before he reached her lips. "Can I kiss you?"

"Only if you want to live." She smiled, closing the gap between them. Quickly pulling back, she smiled victoriously. "Blueberry muffins!"

"What?"

"That's what I want to eat!" She announced again, standing up and picking up her purse. "I'm going to go get some."

"Give me two seconds, I'll come with you."

"Hurry up." She smiled, waiting for him to pick his coat and they both walked out, heading for the small coffee shop next to their apartment. Finding a table, they waited for the waitress to come, with Rory impatiently tapping her foot under the table.

"What now?"

"I need them before I change my mind."

"Wait here." Standing up, he walked to the counter and, after a quick talk with the owner, he returned, holding a plate with two muffins on it. "If you want more, say and I'll go get more. Now eat." He put the plate in front of her, sitting back down as the waitress finally came. Looking up from her plate and swallowing, Rory smiled.

"Can I get more of these?"

"Sure. How many?"

"Three."

"Anything for you?" She looked at Jess.

"Just coffee, please."

"Be right back." After a few minutes, she returned, placing a cup of coffee in front of Jess and a new plate next to Rory's.

"Enjoy."

Abandoning her muffin for a second, Rory looked at Jess' cup. "That smells fantastic."

"You…want some?"

"Yes, please!" She nodded and he pushed the cup closer to her. Sipping from it, Rory smiled happily, then pushed it back in front of him. "Coffee is even better than I remember it to be."

"You can get your own cup, if you want. Or finish this one."

"Baby." She shook her head. "No way."

"Doctor said that a cup a day won't hurt it."

"Well, won't hurt it isn't the same as will be the best thing in the world for it, now is it?"

"Maybe not, but I would rather have you happy."

"I am happy. I can make it without coffee. I just…don't want to do anything that will hurt or affect the baby in any way, ok?"

"Huh…you're happy? Because 15 minutes ago…?"

She snorted, looking back at her plate. "I was starving. And we're awful shoppers."

"Because we don't have a crystal ball that could have prepared us for this?"

"We should. And you have to buy more muffins for tonight and tomorrow morning. And crackers."

"What?"

"Crackers. Oh, and see if you can find some pear juice."

"You're insane." He mumbled, smirking.

"I'm…going to be late for work." She realized, looking at the clock over the counter. "Shoot!" She stood up, grabbing the two muffins that were left and trying to find somewhere to put them. Giving up, she walked to the counter and returned, holding a bag in her hands. Leaning over, she kissed Jess quickly. "I'll call you if I can think of anything else. Love you."

"Yeah, yeah." He smirked again, kissing her one more time. "Go to work." Waving, Rory walked out of the coffee shop, leaving him sitting at the table, trying to finish his coffee. Picking up his phone, he dialed the number for the diner, waiting for Luke to pick up.

"_Yeah?"_ The man grumbled from the other end.

"What can I do to help her through this? And make it out alive?" Jess sighed, running a hand through his hair.

"_Jess?"_

"No, your other nephew who's engaged to your other step-daughter."

"_Hey, you called me, you don't get to be the clever one. And how do you make it alive through what?"_

"Rory being pregnant."

"_What's wrong?"_

"Food is disgusting, unless we're talking muffins, crackers or pear juice. Blueberry muffins, to be precise. I'm not sure why no other muffins will work, but they don't."

"_You didn't actually think it was going to be easy, did you? Because if you did, you're an idiot."_

"Oh, second person to call me an idiot today and it's not even 9 o'clock."

"_Rory?"_

"What?"

"_The first person."_

"Yeah. So…suggestions?"

"_You track down what she needs or wants, bite your tongue when she's in a bad mood, hold her when she starts crying over being mean to you and, trust me, if she's anything like Lorelai and we both know that she is, that's going to happen in about 12 hours, and just…try your best."_

"And that's good enough?"

"_Yeah, it is."_ Luke reassured him. _"You don't have to be perfect. And call me if she drives you crazy. It gets easier soon."_

"Really?"

"_You get used to it, anyway."_

Chuckling, Jess picked up his cup. "Thanks."

"_No problem. I'm here if you need me. Oh, and Jess?"_

"Yeah?"

"_Don't even bother getting her whatever it was she wanted, she'll move to something completely different by the time you both get home from work."_

"Speaking of work, I should go before I'm late as well. Thanks again, Luke."

"_You're welcome. Again. Bye"_

"Bye."

Pushing the off button, he headed for the counter, getting ready to pay.

* * *

Later that night, Jess walked in the living room, holding a bag in his hand, finding Rory scribbling something down on a piece of paper. Sitting down next to her, he tried to look but she covered it with her hand, shaking her head.

"Not yet."

"Ok." He kissed her shoulder, leaning back on the couch and dropping the bag at his feet. After a few minutes, she shoved the piece of paper in his hands.

"Here."

"What's this?" He looked at the list.

"Things I can think of eating without wanting to throw up."

"Raspberry ice cream? Really? It has to be this specific?"

"Yeah!"

"So strawberry…"

"Ugh." Rory grumbled, making a face.

"Raspberry it is then." Lifting the bag from the floor, he put it on the table. "I got you more muffins."

"Ugh." She grumbled again.

"Crackers?"

She shook her head.

"Pear juice?"

"No way." She grimaced, and he nodded, kissing her shoulder again.

"Ok."

"Sorry."

"It's ok. Serves me right for not listening to Luke." Jess smirked, standing up. "I'll be back in 20."

"Wait, what was that about Luke?"

"I'll explain when I get back, ok?"

"Fine." She smiled, squeezing his hand before he walked out, grabbing his coat and keys again. Almost half an hour later, he walked back in the house, holding to bags in his hands, only to find Rory still on the couch, hugging a pillow and crying. Dropping the bags on the floor, he hurried to her, sitting down and wrapping his arm around her.

"What's wrong?" He asked, worried and she shook her head, a new wave of tears rolling down her cheeks.

"Ror, what's wrong?" He asked her again, hugging her even closer to him. "Pain?"

She shook her head again and he let out a small sigh of relief.

"Then?"

"You're just so nice to me and I'm just awful! I'm absolutely awful to you! You went and bought all this for me, and didn't even yell at me when I was a bitch to you this morning and now I don't want it and I don't know if I even want anything that was on the list I gave you like five minutes ago and why are you still with me? I'm just crazy and making you have to call Luke and hell knows what else. I'm awful." She sighed again, starting to cry even harder as soon as her speech was over and he wrapped his other arm around her as well, pulling her closer to him. Throwing the pillow away from her, Rory hugged him back, burying her face in the crook of his neck and he kissed her head, rubbing her back slowly at the same time.

"You're not awful." He kissed her head again, trying to calm her down.

"Yes, I am."

"If I tell you you're not, will you get mad at me for arguing with you?" He smirked, making her laugh softly.

"Maybe." She lifted her head, wiping her face quickly.

"I'm willing to take that chance. You're not awful." He reassured her again, kissing her forehead.

"I'm not?"

"No, you're not." Jess smiled softly, cupping her face in his hand.

"But I'm mean and crazy."

"Yeah, well, you're pregnant. You're allowed to be."

"But I don't want to yell at you."

"Comforting to know." He smirked, leaning in and kissing her.

"And you're not mad at me for being mean to you this morning? You didn't call Luke because you can't stand having to deal with me any longer?"

"No, I called Luke because I wanted to know what I can do to make it better for you. And to rant a bit." He smirked again, running his thumb over her skin. "And just for the record, he was right on track with warning me about this breakdown. I really need to learn to listen to him from now on."

"How did he know?"

"Experience, I assume."

"And you don't hate me?"

"Why would I hate you?" He looked into her eyes, lowering his hand and pulling her closer to him.

"You want me to go through that list again?"

"I don't hate you." He put his other hand on her leg, kissing her. "I don't get it, but I don't hate you."

"Promise?"

"Cross my heart." He pulled her into his arms, hugging her close to him again as she wrapped her arms around him as well.

"I'm sorry." Rory mumbled, tightening her grip on him.

"Nothing to be sorry for."

She pulled back, looking at him, a small smile on her lips.

"Did you get ice cream?"

"Oh, so I am only good to satisfy your cravings?" He chuckled, kissing her cheek. "Yeah, I did. Although it's probably melted by now."

"Doesn't matter." She shook her head and he nodded, untangling his arms from around her and standing up. He picked up a box from one of the bags and handed it to her, the pointed to the other bags.

"I'm going to go put these away."

"Ok." She mumbled, opening the box and picking up the pack of crackers from the bag at her feet, using one as a spoon. Shaking his head when he saw her, he smirked, heading for the kitchen and starting to put the groceries away. After a few minutes, she walked to him, wrapping her arms around him from behind and kissing his shoulder blade.

"I love you, you know that, right?"

Nodding, he continued trying to organize everything in the fridge, while she kissed his shoulder again before letting go and walking back to the living room.


	13. Grumbling acceptance

**A/N: Really long chapter tonight, I hope that's ok. I thought about breaking it into 2 parts, but it seems to work better this way, so again, hope that's fine with everyone. I hope you enjoy it and remember to leave a review on your way out :). **

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* * *

Grumbling acceptance**

Friday evening, Rory and Jess were standing in front of the Gilmore mansion, looking at each other.

"I suppose we have to go in at some point, right?"

"Not for another 10 minutes. We made good time." Jess sighed, running a hand through his hair, the other one holding hers tightly.

"Can't we just leave? Really, they don't have to know, do they?" She looked at him, biting her lip.

"Why are you worried? I'm the one that's going to get killed."

"They're not going to kill you, grandpa likes you. He'll be happy about this."

"I don't care how much he likes me, you're still his granddaughter and I got you pregnant without being married. I'm dead."

"Oh, thank you for giving me more to worry about."

"I still don't get why you're worried anyway."

"Because…" She bit her lip again, lowering her eyes. "Now they're going to know we had sex."

"What?" Jess looked at her, trying not to laugh.

"I know it's stupid, but now they're really going to know we had sex and I just…ugh, I don't want them to know."

Moving to stand in front of her, he smirked, finally chuckling. "Rory, I know your grandparents are old but they know we've been living together for a long time. I think they kind of assumed we were sleeping together by now. I mean, they've been to our place and saw that we only have one bedroom and everything."

"Yeah, well, they didn't know for sure, did they?" She snapped, making him laugh again. Letting go of her hand, Jess rubbed her arms, smiling as he kissed her.

"I suppose not." He chuckled, pulling her into a hug. "Crazy woman."

"Yeah, well, they'll know. How exactly do I tell them that?" She looked down at her feet, avoiding his gaze.

"How about you focus on the baby and don't give them details? I'm sure they know how babies happen without you explaining the process in detail. We can lie and tell them it was a one time thing and it's never going to happen again, ok?" He crouched down a bit so he could look into her eyes, getting a small smile out of her.

"Promise they won't bring it up?"

"I doubt they want to think about that either." He straightened his back again and she placed a small kiss on his mouth.

"Thank you. And they're not going to kill you. Grandpa will probably be happy about it, even if we're not married. Grandma…will just have to deal with the fact that I'm not getting rid of you and finding a suitable young man. She might not be happy about it right away, but she'll get around to it."

"Hopefully before baby comes, because I don't want to spend the next many months in terror." He put his hand on her abdomen.

"We can always promise her we're naming our daughter Emily."

"We're not, just for the record." He chuckled, running his knuckles across her stomach.

"Not even as a middle name?"

"Why are we debating names now? Don't we have something better to do?"

"Like?"

"Well, since I still say I'm going to die in less than half an hour, I may have a few ideas." He smirked, leaning in and kissing her neck.

"That's how you'd spend your last minutes on Earth?"

"Doubt there's a better way."

"I see you stopped being worried."

"Well, now I'm kind of worried that you're going to murder me in my sleep, but other than that…" Jess chuckled, making her smile.

Cupping his face in her hand, Rory kissed him, then ran her fingers through his hair. "Can we go in?"

"Not yet." He kissed her again, putting his arms around her and pulling her closer to him, crushing his mouth to hers. They were interrupted by someone coughing behind them and they pulled apart, with Rory blushing and looking down. Turning around to see Lorelai standing behind them, grinning happily as Luke walked up to them, holding Will in one arm and a diaper bag on the other shoulder.

"What, you forgot your way?" Lorelai snickered, taking her son from Luke and looking at the two.

"Just making sure I enjoy my last minutes on Earth." Jess smirked, putting his arm around Rory's waist.

"Well, you really seemed to be enjoying yourself with your tongue shoved…"

"Lorelai, baby ears around you." Luke pointed to their son, not giving her a chance to finish her sentence.

"Yeah, well, she's my daughter as well. He shouldn't enjoy himself too much. Not that that's possible considering why we're here." She muttered under her breath.

"We're here because we're always here on Friday." Rory pointed out. "Now can we go before we're late and make this night even worse than it's going to be?"

"Hey, you were the one that was just as scared as I was of going in." Jess replied, looking at her.

"So the sooner we do this, the sooner we can actually get out of there." She turned around, getting ready to ring the doorbell when she remembered her ring and she turned back, looking from Jess to her mother. "Ring on or off when we go in?"

"Off." The two nodded in agreement and Rory took off her ring, a sad smile appearing on her lips.

"I don't like it." She dropped her ring in her purse, then rang the doorbell, waiting for the maid to answer. After a few seconds, the front door opened with Emily standing on the other side. Squeezing Jess' hand one more time, Rory smiled at her grandmother.

"Hey, grandma."

"You're here! Finally!"

Stepping in the foyer, Rory hugged her grandmother quickly before taking off her coat as the other walked in behind them.

"Nice to see you, Mrs. Gilmore." Jess tried to smile and she looked coldly at him.

"You too, Jess. Laura, come take their coats!"

"Hey, mom." Lorelai smiled and Emily finally noticed her daughter and grandson, walking to them and flashing them a smile.

"Laura, hurry up! How are you, Lorelai?"

"Fine."

"And William?"

"Will is fine as well." She huffed, annoyed by her mother's habit of using her son's full name. "He's almost starting to walk. Maybe tonight's the night, what do you say, baby?" She directed the last question at her son, who hid his face in the crook of her neck. "Ok, maybe not."

"Luke, how are you?"

"Also good, Emily." He nodded, smiling uncomfortably.

"Laura, for the love of all things could you please come take their coats?" Emily yelled again and a terrified looking young girl walked in the room, taking all their coats and running out again.

"Oh, wow, you get them younger and younger these days, mom. Child labor laws be damned, right?"

"Don't be silly, Lorelai, she's of a perfect age to have a job."

"The older you get, the younger everyone else is, mom." Rory looked at her mother and Lorelai shot her a glare, shaking her head.

"You really think you won't need me tonight?" Lorelai leaned closer to her daughter's ear as Emily started walking towards the living room.

"Sorry." Rory smiled sweetly, taking Jess' hand again as they headed for the living room. Taking one of the chairs as they had agreed and letting Rory and Jess sit down on the couch, Lorelai turned around to look at Emily.

"Where's dad?"

"Upstairs, getting your presents."

"Oh, we get presents!" Lorelai exclaimed excitedly.

"Of course you get presents, it's expected that you get presents from someone who has just returned from a trip. Really, Lorelai, you must remember some of the things I taught you. If only enough to have the common decency to ask how our trip was."

"I know how your trip was, you told me all about it on the phone."

"Well, never mind then. What would everyone like to drink?"

"Martini, please!" Lorelai sighed frustrated and put her son down on the floor, handing him a toy from her purse to play with.

"Rory, same for you?"

"Uh…no, just water, please. We're not sure if we're going back to Philadelphia after dinner and someone needs to drive."

"Don't be silly, a drink won't kill you." Emily smiled, handing both Rory and Lorelai a glass and she shrugged while Rory put hers on the table, shaking her head slowly. Grabbing her hand, Jess squeezed it softly, and she smiled gratefully at him.

"Luke, beer?"

"Yeah, sure." The man nodded as she handed him a bottle, then looked coldly at Jess.

"What would you like to drink, Jess?"

"Whatever you have is fine."

"You should know by now that we have everything. You've been coming here long enough. Scotch works for you?"

"Yeah, sure, it's fine." He sighed and this time Rory squeezed his hand, turning around to see her grandmother wasn't looking at kissed his shoulder quickly. Handing him the glass, Emily picked her own glass and sat down on the couch across from them, everyone staring at each other in silence, only interrupted by the toddler's happy noises. After a few minutes, Richard walked downstairs, holding a few bags in his hands. Everyone stood up, but he quickly motioned for them to sit down again, smiling excitedly.

"Wait till you see what we got you. Rory, I think you're really going to love this." He started looking through the bags but Rory and Jess exchanged a quick look, before she looked at her mother and nodded.

"Actually, grandpa, we have something to say before we start the presents and dinner."

"What's so important that it can't wait for presents?" Emily sighed and Rory smiled.

"Well, now that you ask…" She took a deep breath, holding Jess' hand tightly. "Jess and I are engaged."

"You're what?"

"Engaged. Getting married." She took her hand out of Jess' and quickly slipped her ring back on, smiling happily as it took its place on her finger, then looked back at her grandmother. "Grandma, say something."

"I…"

"Congratulations." Richard stood up, walking to the other side of the table and waiting for the two to stand up before he hugged his granddaughter quickly. Shaking Jess' hand, he smiled at him. "This is fantastic news. I'm very happy for both of you."

"Thanks, grandpa." Rory hugged him again, smiling.

Standing up, Emily looked at them. "Congratulations." She mumbled coldly, then turned around to face the door, seeing the maid standing in the doorway, getting ready to announce dinner. "Laura, we're going to be late for dinner so please inform the cook. Also, bring some champagne and glasses." Turning back to face her granddaughter, she smiled again. "Have you picked a date?"

"Uh, no, not yet."

"So this is still new I assume?"

"Yeah, it happened a couple of weeks ago and we haven't had much time to plan. But we're not done yet. We kind of have other news as well."

"And you couldn't have started with the other thing first because I really fail to see what's more important than being engaged?"

"Uh, you see, kind of funny that you say that because, uh…" Rory dragged it out, looking down at her feet while everyone else in the room was looking at her, waiting. Taking a few deep breaths and looking between her grandparents, she squeezed Jess' hand as tightly as she could before straightening her back. "I'm pregnant." She announced and the older couple looked at her, while Lorelai and Luke were looking from the couple on one couch to the one on the other one, waiting to see who would react first.

"I hope you're getting married before you start to show." Emily finally recovered, looking at her granddaughter.

"What?" Rory recoiled, trying not to get angry.

"You heard me. It's obvious you're only engaged because this happened and Jess, I respect you for trying to do the right thing. I can call a few people if you need any help planning your wedding."

"How about if we're engaged because we love each other and this baby has nothing to do with that? Doing the right thing? Really, grandma? What is this, 1950?"

"You don't actually expect me to believe you would be getting married if this hadn't happened, would you?"

"Well, yeah, I kind of do."

"Luke, can you take Will upstairs?" Lorelai looked at her husband, knowing that a fight was about to follow and he nodded, picking up their son and walking upstairs.

"Why is so hard for you to believe that want to get married, regardless of having a baby together or not? This just adds to our happiness but the two aren't connected. You really think we would have spent almost 5 years together if we weren't happy and in love?"

"Oh, please. You're stubborn. You don't know what you want and now you're stuck with this for the rest of your life."

"What?" Rory exclaimed again and Jess looked down, biting his tongue, knowing that it was her battle while Lorelai looked at her daughter, trying not to worry. "Grandma, I love Jess. You've known that for a very long time. This isn't something that happened yesterday. I'm not stuck with anything, I want this to happen. I'm happy it has. We both are." She squeezed Jess' hand. "You've made your opinions known some time ago and you might remember me saying that if you wanted us to still have a relationship, you were going to keep them to yourself. Now if you don't want to be a part of this baby's life, that's fine. But don't tell us how to live our lives, ok? We're fine without your help." She took a deep breath, still looking at her grandmother.

"I need some air." Rory announced after a few seconds of silence, getting up from the couch and Jess followed her after a few seconds, avoiding Emily's eyes and looking at Lorelai.

"I'll come get you if she wants you, ok?"

Walking outside he found Rory pacing furiously around the patio and closed the door behind him, walking to her, waiting for her to look at him.

"You ok?"

"God, I swear, she makes me so angry sometimes and I just want to…ugh!" She grumbled and he took off his coat, draping it over her shoulders.

"You'll catch a cold."

"Would it kill her to just say something nice and polite? Really? She lies to people in the DAR all day long, why is it so hard to muster a 'congratulations' for us? Pretend she's happy that she's going to be a great-grandmother and that we're getting married but you'd think it would kill her." She wrapped her arms around him tightly, suddenly starting to cry as he hugged her back, pulling the coat higher up her shoulders. She mumbled something and he pulled back so he could hear what she was saying.

"What?"

"I said I don't even know why I'm crying!" She sighed, a new wave of tears rolling down her face and he hugged her again, placing a small kiss on her temple.

"You knew this wasn't going to end any other way."

"I had hopes." She pulled back and he wiped her face, smiling softly at her.

"Feeling any better?"

"No." She shook her head, biting her lip. "I can't stand her when she's like that. Why does she have to be like that?"

"Ror, she wants what's best for you. And obviously doesn't believe I'm that."

"Well, she's crazy. Because you are."

"Good to know you still think that." He hugged her again, kissing her softly. "But if you ever tell me you need air and then leave the room without me, I will kick your butt."

"Why?"

"I do believe those were the scariest 20 seconds of my life."Jess sighed, tightening his grip on her. "I had no idea I could be this worried about you, just for the record."

"What?" She looked up at him, her anger forgotten for a second.

"I thought something was wrong. Just…don't do that again, ok?" He mumbled and she nodded, smiling at his admission and placed a quick kiss on his lips.

"I'm supposed to be mad at her right now, so stop saying nice things to me, will you?" She laughed as he wiped a small smudge of mascara. "You think things will ever be ok?"

"Yeah. Give her a few months, she'll reach the same grumbling acceptance of the fact that this is really happening that she's been doing over my general existence for the past few years. I'm not sure how she'll react when the baby actually comes, but since it's going to be cuter than I am, I have hopes."

In the meantime, inside.

"Did you have to say those things to her, mom?" Lorelai exploded as soon as Jess left the room, standing up and starting to pace around the room. "You can't honestly tell me you didn't think they were going to get married. They've been together for years, what else did you think was going to happen?"

"I thought she would come to her senses, that what I thought you happen, Lorelai. Certainly not have a child without being married. This is all your fault! If you had married Chris like you were supposed to, none of this would have happened! She would have known that this isn't something Gilmores do!"

"Did you really just decide to bring up Christopher? Mom, that 28 years ago! And hey, Will was born after I married Luke. I tried to set the right example for her." Lorelai snapped, sarcasm filling her words.

"This isn't how her life was supposed to turn out!"

"Mom, stop. Why is it so hard for you to just be happy for them? You're going to be a great-grandmother. Rory's not 16, she's in a happy relationship with a good man that is going to stand by her side. So what if she isn't married yet? She will be, and it will be to the father of her child. Does the fact that they're not married right now really matter that much to you?" She tried to appease her mother. "Dad, help me out here."

"Richard, stay out of this." Emily snapped at her husband and he shook his head, drinking from his glass. "She isn't supposed to have his children."

"Don't do this. It's been a long time since they were in high school."

"And I suppose you're ecstatic that your Yale graduate daughter is going to marry and have a child with a man who never went to college?"

"Yes, I am. Because, and God, I feel like I've been telling you this since they got together, he loves her. Makes her happy. What more do you want from him? He's done well even without going to college. And speaking of which, what have you done with your degree that's that important? Stop going after him, mom. He doesn't deserve that."

"You were on my side when they were in high school!"

"Yes, I was. 10 years ago, when they were both children. Now, I'm on his side. Deal with it because he's sticking around and, if you want to have anything to do with Rory or their baby, you better be nice to them from now, or I swear…" She mumbled the last bit as Richard stood up, filling his glass then heading for the door.

"If you'll excuse me, I'm going to go find them." He stepped outside, finding the young couple still hugging each other. Coughing politely, he looked at the two and they shot apart, trying to avoid his eyes. "Jess, can I get a few minutes alone with my granddaughter?"

"Sure, Mr. Gilmore."

"Richard."

"Richard." He nodded, still trying to get used to using the older man's first name.

"You can go to my study, Rory will come find you in a few minutes for dinner."

"Ok." He nodded again, smiling at his fiancée before heading back inside through the other door, trying to avoid running into Emily. Richard pulled one of the patio chairs and pointed for Rory to sit down, then took another one and sat down in front of her.

"I'm sorry about what happened inside."

"It's fine." Rory brushed it off. "It's good to know that you're happy about the engagement."

"Emily will turn around on it."

"I hope so. Preferably before the baby comes."

"I'll talk to her."

"Thanks, grandpa." Rory smiled gratefully.

"How do you feel? About the baby?"

"Excited. Really, incredibly excited. Both Jess and I are so happy about this."

"Good."

"He's going to be such a great dad." She gushed happily, pulling the coat tighter around her body to protect herself from the cold November night.

"You're going to be a great mom." Richard smiled at his granddaughter and she got up from her chair, tears shining in her eyes again and hugged him.

"Thanks, grandpa. That…means a lot."

"Now what do you say we go inside before you freeze out here?" Richard stood up and she nodded, hugging him again quickly.

"I'm going to go get Jess."

"I'll go see if your mother and grandmother are still fighting."

"Meet you in the dining room." She smiled before they both headed back inside.

In the meantime, back in the living room, Lorelai and Emily were looking at each other, neither one of them knowing what more to say. Seeing Rory's glass on the table, Emily sighed.

"She could have at least said something before I made her a drink. Now I have to throw it out."

"Oh, trust me, it's not going to go to waste." Lorelai picked up the glass, lifting in the air.

"Lorelai, you really should control your drinking around your son. What are you teaching him?"

"That drinking yourself into oblivion is the perfect way to forget an uncomfortable situation, of course."

"Really, Lorelai…" Emily shook her head while Lorelai sipped from the glass, trying to stay calm. Walking in the room, Richard looked at his wife.

"Any chance we can have dinner now?"

"I'll go tell the cook." The woman stood up, leaving the two alone.

"Where's Rory?"

"Getting Jess."

"Ok." Lorelai nodded, standing up. "I'm going to go see what Luke and Will are doing and then meet you in the dining room."

"Ok."

A few minutes later, they were in the dining room, with Will in a highchair, next to Lorelai. The maid dropped the plates on the table, ignoring the uncomfortable silence around the table. Pushing the cucumber slices away on her plate, Rory made a face when she saw the pieces of chicken, and picked up a tomato.

"What now?" Emily snapped and she shook her head.

"I'm not hungry."

"Nonsense, you have to eat."

"I would, if it wasn't awful." She grimaced again and Jess lowered his hand, rubbing her leg gently under the table.

"What is awful?"

"Today? Cucumbers, chicken, anything orange, chocolate, blueberries and eggs." Jess went through the list, making Lorelai laugh. "Did I forget something?" He looked back at Rory.

"Bananas. Apples are still undecided. But peaches are back on the good list." She smiled back at him while the others looked at them.

"I'll tell Laura to ask Jonathan to make you a new salad."

"You don't have to. I can just wait for the main course. Or grab something later."

"You have to eat." Emily announced, ringing the bell and calling for the maid again. As soon as the girl left the room, Rory turned to look at her grandmother again.

"Grandma, we haven't told dad yet about the engagement or the baby, so I would appreciate it if you didn't mention anything to him."

"Why?"

"I want to tell him in person, not over the phone." She lied, but no one other than Jess seemed to notice.

"Fine." Emily mumbled.

"So, how was Europe?" Rory smiled at her grandfather and he started his story.

* * *

Later that night, Jess and Rory were in the car, driving behind Luke's truck, headed for Stars Hollow.

"Told you, grumbling acceptance." He looked at her, smirking.

"What?"

"Dinner? I'm pretty sure her torturing the cook was her way of kind of accepting this."

"You think?"

"Any other night, she would have just left it at that and mentioned something about wasting food."

"You have a point." Rory nodded, biting her lip.

"It's been known to happen." He smirked again and she ran her fingers through his hair.

"I still don't like it. She shouldn't have said all those things."

"Ror, you knew she wasn't going to be excited about this. That kid has half my genes. What if it never goes to college?" He chuckled, glancing quickly in her direction.

"She better. I'm here to be a good influence on our daughter." Rory grinned, nodding and looking at him.

"So you're telling me I'm a bad influence?"

"I'm sorry, you mentioned something about teaching her how to set off the fire alarms. You can't say that and then claim you're going to be a good influence." She ran her fingers through his hair.

"That's it, just for that one, I'm throwing in at least a couple of other tricks. And no amount of grounding will make me change my mind."

"Oh, great." Rory sighed, trying to sound annoyed but ended up laughing. "With you teaching her all your tricks, I'll have white hair before her fifth birthday."

"Hey, if it's a girl, you'll be thankful if I teach her my tricks. Especially the one that involves not going near boys until she's 18."

"You're not serious, are you?"

"Heart attack serious."

"You do realize I was dating Dean at 16? And took a bus and went to New York to see you at 17?"

"Hey, if she ever brings home a guy like Dean, I am telling you right now that he's going to mysteriously disappear before the end of dinner. And then body parts will just as mysteriously appear around town."

"Jess, she'll be allowed to date any guy she wants."

"As long as he doesn't need help counting to 10." He chuckled, making her laugh.

"We don't even know if it's a girl and you're already overprotective of her?"

"Hey, I remember what I was doing with girls at that age. No dating until 18. I'd make it 30, but I think the whole 'legally an adult thing' would stand in my way."

"I'll get you a shotgun so you can scare off the boys."

"Not a bad idea, now that you mention it." He laughed and Rory shook her head, laughing as well.

"Crazy man." She stuck out her tongue, giggling. "Just make sure you don't teach her how to sneak out, so you can be crazy and overprotective all you want."

* * *

Even later that night, they were lying in bed in the apartment above the diner, an arrangement that had been started after Luke and Lorelai had gotten married and moved in the Gilmore house. Looking at Jess, Rory ran her fingers through his hair, biting her lip.

"Jess?"

"Yeah?"

"I know this is an 'it's going to be a girl' week and I like that, but…if it's a boy, can we name him Richard? Middle name, not first. I think grandpa would like that. I'd like that."

Leaning in and kissing her softly, he smiled as well, nodding. "Yeah."

"Thank you." She kissed him again, hugging him as close to her as she could.


	14. Ribbons and dots

**A/N: Thank you for the reviews. I hope you like this chapter.**

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**Ribbons and dots**

"You better be dressed!" Lorelai yelled from the other side of the door on Saturday morning and Rory walked to the door, opening it.

"Mom, it's almost 10. What exactly did you think we're doing up here?"

"You really want to know the answer to that question?" Lorelai snickered, walking in the room and sitting at the table, holding Will in her arms and Rory sat across from her. "Where's the hoodlum?"

"Right here." Jess walked to the kitchen area, holding a book in his hand.

"So, if you're both awake, why aren't you downstairs having breakfast?"

"I'm awake, she's the lazy one." Jess smirked, kissing the top of Rory's head before leaning against the counter.

"Tired. It's called being pregnant." She made a face at him, then turned back to look at her mother. "Mom, tell him to be nice to me."

"Jess…" The older woman looked at him.

Shaking his head slowly, he smirked. "Breakfast anyone?"

"As many slices of cheery pie as Luke's willing to part with."

"I'd reevaluate saying that unless you want Jess to return with a whole pie." Lorelai laughed, putting Will on the floor and giving him one of the toys in her bag. "Luke is…Luke."

"Well, a whole pie wouldn't be that bad."

Shaking his head again, Jess leaned in and kissed her quickly. "Going before you change your mind again." He announced, leaving the room.

"How many times have you done that?" Lorelai asked when they were alone.

"Today or in the last week?"

"That bad then?"

"Worse. Why didn't anyone tell me about this?"

"Hon, you remember making fun of your lovely mother here and thinking she was exaggerating? She wasn't!" Lorelai laughed, trying to sound angry.

"Sorry. I am now officially apologizing for ever giving you a hard time. Ugh." Rory grumbled, dropping her head on the table. "When does it stop?"

"My preservation instinct tells me it's a very bad idea for me to answer that question."

"That bad?"

"Worse." Lorelai grimaced, remembering and Rory shook her head. "And not to be mean, because I am still your mother and I love you, but if you think it's bad now, you're going to hate the next few weeks. The second morning sickness kicks in, this will seem like a walk in the park."

"Why am I doing this again?"

"Baby." Lorelai reminded her again and Rory smiled, moving her hand to her stomach.

"Yeah. Baby. Jess' baby."

"One would think you really love that guy or something." Lorelai snickered, looking at her daughter at the same time, happy for her. Before Rory had a chance to reply, Jess walked back in, holding two slices of pie on two plates. Dropping them on the table, Rory look disappointed at him.

"Just two?"

"Your town is insane!" He sighed, pulling up a chair and sitting down. "They need entertainment."

"Hire a clown. That will distract them for a couple of hours." Lorelai quipped. "Or at least confuse them while they try to figure it out."

"No, you see, a clown would fit right in here."

"Hey!" Lorelai protested, making Rory laugh.

"So, what happened?"

"Babette and Patty know we're in town and have been sitting down there since this morning."

"Yeah, I saw them." Lorelai nodded, confused.

"And you couldn't have told me?"

"They're always there, I don't see what that has to do with Rory's perfectly sensible amount of pie."

"Well, the second I walked down there, they cornered me with questions about what's happening, and why are we here and did you lie to them, I have no idea what about, just for the record, and then they were watching me when I took the pie out. I barely made it out alive." He sighed, making the two women laugh. Running her fingers through his hair, Rory leaned in and kissed him.

"Thank you, provider of pie. Your almost sacrifice is noted."

"I think they meant to ask if I lied when I said you weren't engaged. Probably. And the pie?"

"How do you think I could have explained more than two slices without them asking questions again? I need to go down and get coffee now, because they mentioned something or the other about coffee and I would prefer if they didn't barge in here." He sighed, then got up, kissing the top of Rory's head. "I'll be back."

"So, any plans for today?" Lorelai asked as Rory started digging through the first slice of pie.

"We're going to go see Liz and tell her about this."

"Oh, wow. So Jess relented?"

"He knows she has to find out at some point and we have to tell her before we tell the town. Uncomfortable night number two, here we come."

"Need any moral support? Luke and I can come, helps diffuse to situation."

"I appreciate it, but I think Jess would prefer it if you weren't there. I'll ask him, though."

"Ok. Let me know." Lorelai nodded, looking at her son who was still happily playing with his toys. Jess walked back in the room, holding two mugs in his hands and placed them on the table.

"No decaf, the vultures were watching."

"I'll make do." Rory smiled, squeezing his hand under the table.

"Anything else exciting happen lately?" Lorelai chimed in again.

"Mom, we talk on the phone every day. What do you think could have happened?"

"Last night?" Jess reminded her and Lorelai looked at him confused.

"I was there last night, unless something happened when I was in the bathroom…?"

"Not at dinner. After that." Rory swallowed the piece of pie she was eating, then answered.

"Oh, what happened after dinner?" Lorelai looked from one to the other one, trying to figure it out. "Is it good?"

"We picked a middle name." Rory smiled, taking Jess' hand again. "And yes, I know it's really early and bad things may happen but…"

"I'm pretty sure we named Will the day after I found out I was pregnant. So? Are you ever going to tell me?" Lorelai looked at Rory, anxious.

"Richard. If it's a boy." She squeezed Jess' hand, looking at her mother, waiting for her reaction.

"Lorelai Richard Mariano. Has a nice ring to it." She laughed, making the younger couple shake their heads, chuckling as well. Trying to stay serious, Lorelai smiled again. "Dad will love it."

"We know." Rory nodded. "How do you feel about it? I know you and grandpa weren't always on the greatest terms."

"Rory, you can name your child anything you want. And my relationship with him has nothing to do with yours." She smiled, drinking from her cup of coffee. "And this will appease mom even more."

"Yeah, until she finds out that her grandson's first name is apparently going to be Lorelai." Jess chuckled, taking the other cup of coffee.

"I fail to see a problem with that." Lorelai grinned, making the other two laugh.

* * *

Later that night, Rory and Jess were standing in front of the front door to Liz's house. Squeezing Rory's hand tightly, Jess turned to look at her.

"We can still leave, right?"

"She has to find out at some point." Moving to stand in front of him, still holding his hand, she wrapped her other arm around him, hugging him close to her. "It won't be that bad."

"If she hugs me…?"

"I'll come save you if it lasts more than 5 seconds. If TJ tries to take you away and talk to you alone, I will suddenly need something from you. We have this planned. Everything will be fine." She reminded him, kissing his cheek.

"I love you." She smiled, cupping her face in his free hand and kissing her.

"Only because I run interference for you." Rory joked, kissing him one more time before letting go of him. "Ready?"

"As ready as I'll ever be." He nodded, then rang the doorbell. After a few second, a little girl opened the door and jumped to hug her brother, smiling happily.

"Jess!"

Uncomfortable, he ruffled her hair quickly and shot Rory a look, making her smile. "Hey, Doula." She leaned in to be at the girl's eyes level and she let go of Jess, hugging Rory instead.

"Doula, what did I say about not opening the door?" Liz voice boomed from inside the house and after a few seconds, she appeared in the doorway. "Oh, wow. Did I know you were coming?"

"Surprise visit." Jess replied, trying to sound happy. Standing back up, Rory took his hand again. Looking at her mother, Doula bit her lip.

"It's Stars Hollow, mom."

"Yeah, well, I still don't want you opening the door. Got it?"

The little girl sighed, nodding.

"Good. Now go tell daddy Jess and Rory are here." As the girl ran inside the house, she smiled at the two. "Are you staying for dinner?"

"No, we're meeting Lorelai at the diner for that. We have something to do later tonight."

"Ok." Liz nodded. "Oh, God, come in. I've been keeping you outside!" She finally realized and stepped out of the way and they made their way to the living room, sitting on the couch while Liz took an armchair. "So, what brings you here?"

"We have news." Jess squeezed Rory's hand again and she kissed his shoulder quickly. Before he could continue, Doula walked back in the room, dragging TJ by the hand.

"Told you!" She pointed to the young couple on the couch.

"Doula, don't point. It's rude." Her mother sighed again.

"But dad didn't believe me when I said they're here!"

"And does that mean that pointing is any less rude?"

"No?" The girl tried to guess, while TJ sat down in the other chair.

"That's right. Now go to your room and play in there for a while, ok?"

"But…but…" Her bottom lip started to quiver, as she tried not to cry. "I want to say with Jess and Rory!"

"The grownups have to talk alone for a while, but you can come play with them after that, ok?" Liz looked from her daughter to her son and he nodded.

"Promise?" The little girl turned to look at her brother and he nodded again.

"Yeah."

"And you?" She looked at Rory.

"I promise." Rory nodded solemnly, smiling. "We'll come find you in 10 minutes."

"Ok." Doula nodded, still hesitating, before leaving the room.

"I figured we might need some time alone."

"Yeah, it's better this way." Jess tried to smile.

"So, what's your news?" Liz asked excitedly, hoping the gossip around town was true.

Jess looked at Rory one more time, before taking a deep breath and looking back at his mother. "We're engaged." Liz yelped excitedly and tried to get up to hug them, but he stopped her. "Not done yet. Ror, you want to take this one?" Nodding, she squeezed his hand while the other two people in the room looked at them, waiting anxiously.

"Also, I'm pregnant."

After a few seconds of stunned silence, Liz finally got up, walking to the couch and pulled Jess up, hugging him tightly. "Congratulations! I'm so happy for you!"

"Thanks." He sighed uncomfortably, not knowing whether he should hug her back or not. Before he could decide, she let go of him and moved to hug Rory, tears now shining in her eyes.

"And you. So happy for you too!"

"Thank you." Rory smiled back, hugging the woman. When she finally let go, she walked to her husband, nudging him.

"TJ?"

"Yeah, uh, congratulations!"

"Thanks." The two replied in unison, smiling. Sitting back down in her chair, Liz wiped her eyes quickly.

"So, Babette was right about the engagement!"

"Yes, she was." Rory answered. "But we haven't told them yet, well, that's kind of why we're going to the diner tonight, to tell them, and they're not going to find out about the pregnancy until the first trimester is over, so we would appreciate it if you could keep this a secret."

"Of course." Liz nodded. "When's the baby due? Have you set a date? How do you feel?"

Smiling, Rory squeezed Jess' hand again. "No date, baby is due at the beginning of July and, other than hating most foods, I'm great."

"Any ultrasound pictures yet?"

"Not yet. We'll have some at Thanksgiving."

"Are you excited?" Liz grinned and the younger couple nodded.

"Jess, if you have any questions or want to talk about anything, you can come to me." TJ announced, making snort, trying not to laugh.

"Thanks, but I've got it."

"If you change your mind?"

"I know where to find you." He deadpanned, trying to stay serious.

"Oh, wow, I'm so happy for you. Is the wedding going to be before or after the baby is born?"

"After." Rory nodded, looking at Jess. "I don't want to be fat in my wedding dress."

"You'll be beautiful no matter what. Every woman is." Liz gushed, making Rory smile again.

"I tried to tell her that." Jess smirked, squeezing her hand. "You need to start listening to me if you want to be a good wife." He chuckled, making Rory laugh as well, looking into his eyes.

"Yeah. I'll get right on that. Immediately after I'm done with my cooking classes." She kissed his shoulder again, her arm wrapped around his waist. Liz watched their interaction, a happy smile on her lips.

"You're going to be great parents." She remarked, making the younger couple look at her. Suddenly uncomfortable again, Jess stood up.

"I'm going to go find Doula. The 10 minutes are almost up and she's bound to come barging in here."

"I'll come with you." Rory stood up, following her fiancé in the little girl's room. Half an hour and a formal introduction of all her dolls, Doula and Rory were sitting on the floor next to a small table, having a tea-party while Jess watched them from the bed, trying not to laugh at both their attempts to get him to join.

"What did you and mommy talk about?" The girl asked Rory and she smiled.

"Your brother and I are getting married."

"Really?"

"Yes." Rory nodded and the girl jumped from the floor again, hugging Rory.

"Can I be a flower girl at your wedding?"

"Wouldn't have it any other way, would we, Jess?" She looked threateningly at him and he nodded.

"Sure. Whatever you want."

"Thank you!" The girl hugged Rory even harder, making her smile. "Will I get to wear a pretty dress?"

"Any dress you want to."

"One that swirls?"

"If you want that, then sure." Rory nodded again.

"Ror, I'm just going to go get some air…" Jess looked at her and she smiled.

"Ok. I'll be out in 5 minutes and then we can go."

"No!" The young girl yelped, sad.

"We have to go see your uncle Luke and my mom." Rory started to explain while Jess left the room without Doula noticing. "But we'll see you again in a week and a half for Thanksgiving."

"But…I don't want you to go."

"A week and a half is not that long, is it? So what else do you want your dress to have?" Rory changed the subject and Doula finally let go of her and sat back down on the floor.

"Ribbons! Lots and lots of ribbons! And butterflies. And dots! I saw the prettiest dress in the world and it had dots and it was so pretty, Rory!"

"Ok. We'll find you a dress that has all that."

In the meantime, outside, Jess was leaning against the railing, waiting for Rory to come out of the house so they could finally leave when he saw Liz coming out the front door instead. Sighing, he shoved his hands in his pockets, waiting for her to come next to him.

"I saw you through the window."

"Yeah, I figured. If you're here to give me the speech about not pulling a Jimmy, I don't need it."

"I know." The woman smiled, ruffling her son's hair, making him even more uncomfortable. "You're going to be a great dad. You're going to be a way better parent to that child than Jimmy ever was." Pausing for a second, she looked down at her feet, avoiding his eyes. "Better than I ever was to you."

"It's not like that's gonna be that hard, Liz." He replied, looking at her coldly. After a few seconds, he shook his head. "Sorry. That was unnecessary."

"No, I deserved that." She sighed, looking at him. "I am sorry. I should have tried…"

He lifted a hand, stopping her before she could continue. "Doesn't matter anymore. You've apologized, I forgave you, there's no need to bring that up again." Sighing, he nodded towards the house. "I should go get Rory, we really should leave soon."

"I'll go. Doula will never let you go if she sees you again." Finishing her sentence, Liz walked back inside, leaving him standing there. Going to her daughter's room, she smiled when she saw the two drinking from empty little plastic cups.

"Rory? Jess sent me to find you."

"Ok." Rory smiled, standing up. "We're going to have to finish this another time, but thank you for inviting me. It was a lot of fun." She looked at Doula, who got up and hugged her again.

"Ribbons and dots, right?"

"Ribbons and dots." Rory nodded, hugging the girl back.

"Honey, go wash your hands for dinner."

"Ok, mom." Doula nodded, running to the bathroom.

"I'm still waiting for the day when she learns that she can get from point A to point B without running."

"I think I danced my way through the house for a while, so running-not that bad." Rory laughed, picking up her coat from the couch. While she was getting dressed, Liz looked at her, trying to decide whether or not she should say what she wanted to say.

"Rory?"

"Yeah?" She looked back at the woman, buttoning her coat.

"Thank you." She took a deep breath before continuing. "I'm sure you had a lot to do with convincing Jess to come here tonight and letting me be a part of this."

"I, uh, didn't…" She hesitated, not knowing what to say.

"You did. I know he only calls and visits and hell, still talks to me because you and Luke asked him to."

"Liz, I, we…"

"Thank you." Liz hugged her again and Rory bit her lip, smiling.

"You're welcome."

Wiping her eyes again quickly, Liz smiled at the young woman. "So, ready?"

"Yeah, sure." Rory picked up Jess' coat from the couch and they both walked outside. After a quick goodbye, the two were walking back to the diner, his arm wrapped around her waist.

"On a scale on 1 to 10, how bad was it?"

"Not that bad." He smirked, kissing the top of her head as she snuggled up to him, trying to hide from the cold. "Tea party though? Really?"

"What will you do if baby is actually a girl? Tea parties, dolls, princesses…they all come with girls."

"Mock the two of you." He chuckled, making her smile.

"Oh, please, Mr. 'I'm already overprotective of our potential daughter'. Sure."

"What, you don't believe me?"

"I know you're a sap." Rory smiled, kissing his cheek. "You'll be having conversations with Fluffy, the teddy bear before you know it."

Jess rubbed her arm slowly, kissing her head again. "Let's go, your town awaits."


	15. Fate said so

**A/N: Thank you so much for the reviews, you're all awesome. I hope you enjoy this chapter. **

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**Fate said so**

A few minutes later, they were standing in front of the diner, Rory's hand holding his tightly. Looking at him, she smiled, leaning over and kissing his cheek.

"Are you ready for this?"

"If I say no, will we leave?"

"I don't want to hide my ring anymore, Jess." She pouted, making him smile.

"The things I do to make you happy…" He sighed, wrapping his arm around her waist and pulling her close to him. Kissing her cheek quickly, he smirked. "You know they're all watching us through the windows, right?"

"I had a feeling. Is mom there?"

"First table on the right."

"Ok. We can go in now."

"This whole announcements thing better be over soon."

"Oh, yeah, not much left." She stuck out her tongue, kissing him quickly.

"Lie better next time, will you?"

"I'll try." She let go of him and took his hand again, walking in the diner. Sitting on the chair next to her mother, with Jess on the other side, she looked at Lorelai, who was drinking her coffee.

"You ok, mom?" Rory asked, concerned when she saw her mother looked angry.

"Stupid people are stupid."

"What?"

"People are awful!" Lorelai grumbled again.

"What happened?"

"They canceled."

"Who canceled?"

"You know we were supposed to have this wedding at the inn next month? Well, they freaking broke up and now I'm left with an empty inn a month and a half before the date. What the hell am I going to do?"

"Mom, I don't think they broke up to annoy you."

"Yeah, well, they're doing a really good job at not annoying me."

"You still get to keep the deposit, right?"

"Yeah." Lorelai mumbled. "But we were starting to buy food and do you have any idea how many people we had to turn down to hold the inn for them?"

"Some of those people will call again. You might not get a full inn, but you still have time left. Now let's be nice and stop being angry at the poor people who broke up a month and a half before their wedding, ok?"

"Suppose so." Lorelai sighed, calming down.

"You ready to do this?" Rory asked, looking at the people in the diner.

"Why do I have to be ready?"

"Because I am going to need you to save me if they get too invasive."

"And because I'm running upstairs in about 10 seconds." Jess smirked, making Lorelai laugh.

"You better not." Rory threatened, looking at him.

"We've already had to do this once tonight. Can I at least hide quickly?"

"After it's over, you can go hide."

"Thank you." He placed a quick kiss on her lips, making Lorelai grimace.

"Hey, mother at the table."

"Hey, get used to it." Rory laughed, then stood up, holding Jess' hand. "Can I have everyone's attention for a second?"

The diner was suddenly quiet, with everyone looking at her, Miss Patty and Babette moving their chairs even closer to her.

"What is it, doll?" Babette asked, smiling knowingly at Patty.

"I know there's been some gossip running around town about me and Jess and I wanted to tell you it was right. Yes, we are engaged. We haven't set a date or decided on any details, so please don't ask about that, or actually you can ask, but you're not going to get more than an "I don't know." but feel free to ask about anything else."

"Why would you ever tell them that?" Jess sighed, squeezing her hand and she looked down at him, smiling.

"Congratulations, honey!" Patty was the first one to react and the others in the diner nodded in agreement, shouting their congratulations as well. After a few more seconds of shocked silence, Kirk quickly got up and started to go towards the door, trying to go unnoticed. Which worked for about 5 second until he tripped and fell in the middle of the diner. Getting up and dusting himself off quickly, he ran out the front door, making everyone shake their heads, trying not to laugh.

"Oh, can we see the ring?" Babette asked excitedly after they recovered from Kirk's interruption and Rory quickly moved her ring to her ring finger again, smiling before she held up her hand. In a few seconds, both women were next to her, looking at the ring, then quickly hugged her, smiling.

"You're getting married in town, right?"

"Wouldn't have it any other place."

"Away from this madness would be nice." Jess grumbled, but only Lorelai heard. Snickering, she shook her head quickly.

"Why didn't you tell us this?" Babette suddenly turned her attention to Lorelai but Rory replied before she had a chance to.

"I asked her not to. I wanted to be the one to tell you."

"Oh, how did it happen?" Patty suddenly realized and Jess looked up at Rory, shaking his head slowly.

"Nothing out of the ordinary. He asked, I said yes."

"You could have at least taken her out to dinner, Jess." Babette nudged him in the shoulder and he shook his head, trying to stay calm.

"I can assure you that it was just the way I wanted it to happen. No dinners required." Rory ran her fingers through his hair quickly, smiling, while the two women watched them, smiling as well at the display of affection.

"What the hell is going on here?" Luke asked, finally appearing from the kitchen and Lorelai laughed.

"They announced their engagement. And watch your words, baby ears around you." She mocked his statement the night before, pointing to their son.

"Oh, are you going to have children soon?"

"What?" Rory turned back to look at Patty, blushing and biting her lip.

"Are you going to have kids soon? After the wedding, I mean."

"I believe that should stay between me and Jess, ok?" Rory nodded, happy with her answer.

"But you are going to have children at some point, right?"

"At some point, yes." Rory nodded again, not wanting to tell them that the point was much closer than anyone thought it would be.

"Good. Doll, you're going to look like a princess in your wedding dress."

Looking at Jess, who was wincing in pain hearing their conversation, Lorelai smiled sympathetically. "Jess, can you take Will upstairs? The crowd is tiring for him."

Mouthing a quick 'thank you', Jess took the young boy in his arms and headed behind the curtain, with everyone watching him. Nudging Rory with her elbow, Babette smiled. "He's gonna be a great dad someday, sugar."

"I know."

"Are you getting married at the inn or in the town square?" Babette and Patty sat down in the two empty chairs at the table and Rory sat down as well, getting ready to try to answer their questions as best as she could, despite knowing that she had no answers.

"I don't know."

"Oh, how about the bridge? They repaired it again last summer." Lorelai offered, making Rory smile.

"That doesn't sound too bad. I don't think we can fit everyone around that area though."

"Probably not." Lorelai shook her head, drinking from her coffee cup.

"But the inn sounds like a good idea."

"Oh, you could go down the stairs like your mom did. You'll be so beautiful, honey." Patty gushed, smiling happily.

"Have you told Liz yet?" Babette suddenly asked and Miss Patty leaned closer. The problems between Jess and his mother were well known around town, and the subject of a lot of gossip.

"Yeah. Tonight. We just came from her place."

"What did she say? How did she react?"

"She's happy for us."

"How about your grandparents?" Patty chimed in this time.

"Everything is good." Rory lied, not wanting to let them know about the fight.

"Yeah, dad is extremely happy about this and mom offered to help plan the wedding." Lorelai laughed, remembering her mother's offer to call a few vendors. Before either one of the two women could ask anything else, Taylor walked in the diner, with Kirk right behind him, trying to catch his breath, read and sweaty. Approaching their table, he looked at Rory, serious.

"Can I talk to you for a second, young lady?"

"Sure?" She hesitated for a second before standing up and moving to the side, still close enough for her mother to intervene. Watching them from behind the counter, Luke clenched his fists but Lorelai smiled at him from the other side of the room, trying to calm him down.

"I heard you are planning on marrying that delinquent."

"Taylor." Her smile faded and she looked at him, reminding him that he was about to cross a line.

"You don't have to do that, you know. There are plenty of young men who would be better for you."

"I appreciate your concern, but I love Jess."

"I don't know if you remember, but he stole the bridge money! And drew the chalk outline of a body outside my store! Caused problems in school! He stole Babette's gnome! You got in an accident because of him! Do you realize who you are marrying?"

"Obviously. I'm the only thing keeping him out of prison. But, you know, maybe someday he'll finally manage to get himself locked up and then I will be free again." She joked, trying to ignore the man's craziness.

"If you're scared of leaving him, we can help. I can help you. I have a cousin who runs this organization…"

"Taylor, back off her, will ya'?" Babette chimed in the conversation.

"Well, obviously you're not concerned about this even though you were a victim of his criminal behavior."

"Ok, that's it." Luke stepped from behind the counter, walking to the man. "Get out."

"What? I'm town selectman, don't talk to…"

"I'll talk to you any way I damn please. This is my property. Get out."

"Luke, I know he's your nephew but you have to agree that…"

"Out!" He pointed to the door and the man walked out, shaking his head. "You too!" He pointed at Kirk and he quickly followed Taylor. "He's an idiot." He turned his attention back to Rory and she smiled gratefully at him.

"I know."

"Are you ok?"

"Yeah, I'm fine." She assured him, sitting down at the table again.

"Babe, can I get a cheeseburger? And onion rings? And fries?" Lorelai looked at her husband, smiling.

"You're going to have a heart attack in ten years, you realize that, right?"

"Hush and do what the mother of your child asks, will you?" She grinned and he shook his head.

"Anything for you, Rory?"

"Cheeseburger sounds fine. No onion rings, just fries."

"No coffee, doll?" Babette looked at her and Rory quickly smiled.

"He knows he has to bring coffee without me mentioning it after all this time." She looked at her step-father. "Don't you, Luke?"

"Yeah, yeah. I hope you enjoy your early deaths, both of you." He grumbled again before heading back for the counter. After a few minutes, he appeared again, dropping two plates on the table, then put a full mug in front of Rory. "Coffee. Just the way you like it..." He winked when the other two women couldn't see him, letting her know it was decaf. "…Strong enough to kill an army."

"Thanks, Luke."

"Lorelai, did you happen to notice where our son went?" He turned his attention back to his wife and she smiled.

"Oh, I think he was crawling in the middle of the street a few minutes ago."

"What?"

"He's upstairs with Jess. He was getting grumpy because of the crowd and unless you want to deal with an angry toddler…"

"So you're letting Jess deal with him? God help us." Luke sighed, making Rory snicker.

"I'm sure Will is ok. Jess and I have babysat him before and he's still alive."

"Yeah, well, you were there."

"Jess can figure out that if he needs help he can come downstairs."

"I think he's way more likely to call for help then walk back in here voluntarily." Lorelai laughed, making her daughter chuckle as well.

"You have a point."

* * *

After she finished eating and answering all the questions that the two women had for her, Rory walked upstairs, holding a plate of food in her hand for Jess. Opening the door, she saw Jess on the couch, a book in one hand and the sleeping toddler in his lap, propped against his other arm. Smiling at the sight, she put the plate on the table and walked to the couch, leaning over and kissing Jess.

"Mom wants him back." She whispered, running her fingers through Jess' hair.

"Ok." Jess whispered back and she took the young boy from him, careful not to wake him up. She returned upstairs after a few minutes, sitting down on the couch next to him, kicking her shoes off.

"I brought you dinner."

"Thanks." He smiled, wrapping his arm around her as she rested her head on his shoulder.

"Not going to eat?"

"Not hungry right now."

"What were you reading?" She smiled and he picked up the book, glancing at the title.

"_Thomas the Tank Engine_. Riveting, let me tell you. I know Luke and Lorelai get to make the rules on what we can and cannot read to Will, but for our kid-no way."

"Oh, and I suppose you'll be reading Hemingway to her?"

"I'll avoid any mentions of whorehouses. Deal?"

"Deal. But only because I am pregnant and I am trying very hard not to get weepy and mushy after seeing you like that."

"Like what?"

"With Will sleeping in your arms. I'm pretty sure I would be begging you for a kid right now if we didn't have one on the way already."

Jess kissed the top of her head, smiling softly. "If it makes you feel any less sentimental, I'm pretty sure I'm covered in spit right now."

"Not really, but thank you for trying." She smiled, snuggling even closer to him. Rubbing her arm slowly, Jess smiled again.

"How did it go down there?"

"I think Taylor offered to call a women's organization to help me get away from you, you delinquent."

"I'll kill him."

"He's crazy, but means well." She looked up, suddenly crushing her mouth to his. When she pulled back, he hugged her again, waiting for her to put her legs over his and holding her close to him.

"Any reason for that?"

"Do I need a reason to kiss my fiancé?"

"Nope." He smirked, kissing her. Resting her head back on his shoulder, she smiled happily while he ran his hand over her legs. After a few minutes of silence, Jess kissed her forehead, looking at her.

"Something wrong?"

"Absolutely nothing." She smiled, lifting her head and kissing him. "I'm just thinking."

"Share?"

"It's just…what are we waiting for?"

"What?"

"The wedding. Why are we waiting?"

"Because…you wanted us to wait?" He reminded her.

"I think I've changed my mind. We've been together for so long waiting seems stupid. I have everything I've wanted. I don't want a big wedding, I don't want anything but to marry you and have everyone there."

"You're sure?"

"The only place I want to get married is mom's inn. Well, that or the Independence, but that one looks nothing like it used to. We can get it for a weekend, Sookie can make the food, we would only have to get flowers and favors and clothes. I don't want to wait." She shook her head, kissing him. "Say yes, please."

"I've already said yes. You want us to get married, we will." He pulled her even closer to him, cupping her face in his hand. "I'd marry you tonight if you asked me to."

"How does the weekend between Christmas and New Year sound instead? I think fate is pushing us on this. It's too perfect." She smiled, resting her forehead against his.

"Think you can find a dress in a month and a half?"

"Think you can get used to the idea of having to wear a tux in a month and a half?"

"If I must." He smirked, kissing her quickly.

"You must. And I'm sure I can find a dress."

"You know this means we'll have to plan this while you're going through morning sickness, right?"

"I'll deal with things at night." Rory grinned, kissing him again. "Tell me we're really doing this."

"As long as you're absolutely sure you'll never regret it, we're doing this."

"Why would I regret it?"

"Because…you didn't get to spend a year planning this?"

"I don't want to spend a year planning this. I want to marry you. That's it."

"Then we're doing this." Jess nodded, making her smile grow even bigger. Placing quick, happy kisses on his hand that was still cupping her face, she bit her lip, trying to chase a few happy tears away.

"I love you. Crazy much."

He kissed her, holding her as close to him as he could in the uncomfortable position, his fingers pushing a strand of hair behind her ear. "Love you too."


	16. Corrupted with coffee

**A/N: I have a crazy busy weekend ahead so I finished this chapter ahead of schedule. How proud is everyone of me? We're exploring how Rory and Jess got together, so let me know what you all think of that. Good? Bad? In between? Thank you for the reviews, I hope you enjoy this one. **

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* * *

Corrupted with coffee**

Sunday morning, Rory and Lorelai were in the diner, with Will in a high chair next to them and Jess trying to keep him entertained. Looking at her mother, her hand holding Jess' on the table, she smiled, drinking from her mug.

"Mom…you know you were worried about the inn being empty that weekend after Christmas?"

"Yeah. Why, you happen to know of a convention that is in need of housing for a couple of days?"

"I was thinking more like a wedding." She squeezed Jess' hand, waiting for Lorelai's reaction.

"Really? Who's getting married?" Lorelai asked, not realizing what she was saying.

"Mom?" Rory looked at her, grinning.

"Oh, my God!" Lorelai squealed excitedly when she connected the dots, trying not to make too much noise. "Seriously?"

"Waiting seems stupid." Rory kissed Jess' shoulder quickly, smiling happily. "I've known I'm doomed to spend my life with him for a long time. And this is just perfect the perfect opportunity."

"Hey, doomed?" Jess protested, smirking.

"Hush, the women are planning a wedding." Lorelai grinned, nodding solemnly.

"Will, for your sake, stay away from women, ok?" He looked at the toddler, trying to stay serious.

"What are you teaching my son, Jess?"

"That if he ever wants to be allowed to have an opinion on anything, he'll make sure to never get married. Or engaged for that matter. Or do anything other than f…"

"That's enough for now, hoodlum." Lorelai tried not to laugh. "You've corrupted one child of mine, there's no need to pass your wisdom on to my son as well."

"Ror, do you feel corrupted?"

"Awfully. Maybe I'll call Taylor's cousin's organization to help me."

"Maybe you should." He smirked, leaning in and kissing her.

"You know, I miss high school, when you wouldn't come near me…" Lorelai pointed at Jess. "…and you'd both jump to opposite sides of the room if anyone caught you kissing."

"That's because both you and Luke wanted to kill me." Jess reminded her. "I like to think I'm safe now. She has a ring and everything."

"Yeah, well, that doesn't mean you're allowed to do whatever you want in front of me. She's still ten in my mind."

"Never say that again." Jess grimaced, looking at his fiancée. "I'd prefer to at least think of her as being of legal age."

"Ew!" It was Lorelai's turn to grimace, making him chuckle.

"Payback."

"Be nice to your future mother in law before she makes your life a living hell." Lorelai pointed her finger at him and Jess smirked.

"Rory, isn't talking about yourself in the third person a sign of dementia?"

"We'll find her a nice home."

"Will, you're going to be nicer to mommy than that, right?" Lorelai looked at her son and he gurgled happily, shoving his toy car in her hand. "At least I'll have this to keep me company in my old age." She lifted the toy in the air, then passed it back to the child. "So, wedding? Just say what you want and I'll make it happen. And if I hear one mention of you wanting to pay for the inn or anything relating to that, I'll kick both your asses."

"I can take a day off this week and we can go look at dresses, invitations and all that, if you want to and have the time."

"I'd love to. Just let me know when and where. Go on, what can I do to help? I was coming dress shopping with you anyway. But with this being so short notice and the other thing going on as well, I want to do anything I can to help you guys out."

"Thanks, mom." Rory stood up, walking to her mother and hugging her, smiling happily.

"You're only getting married once, we need to make sure it's perfect."

"Thanks." Rory whispered again and Lorelai smiled, hugging her daughter even tighter.

"I'm so happy for you, kid."

"What are they doing?" Luke asked, walking out of the kitchen and looking at the two women.

"Rory and I are getting married in a month and a half and they've decided to hug. Don't get it, don't care." Jess smirked, waving a toy in front of Will.

"What are you doing?"

"Not having any input in what's going to be my wedding as well and babysitting your son instead."

"Need any coffee?"

"Nope, I'm fine. "

Finally pulling apart, the two women finally spotted him and he nodded. "Food? More coffee?"

"More coffee!" They exclaimed in unison, making him chuckle. Picking up their mugs, he filled them behind the counter, now used to having to make sure no one would see him before handing them back to them.

"Yell if you need anything." He smiled before walking back to the kitchen.

Looking back at her daughter, Lorelai smiled.

"We've already paid a deposit for flowers for the other wedding and we've bought some food. We'll see if you can use anything."

"Decorations?"

"I have a ton of stuff left from my wedding and we can keep the Christmas stuff up as well if you want to. Just tell me what you need."

"Thank you."

"Go on, what else?"

"I can't think of anything else!" Rory sighed, making Lorelai laugh.

"Good thing you have me here. I'll call Sookie and ask her to come over and we can talk menus. You need to get started on the invitations and send them by the end of this week, next week at the latest. We'll tell Babette and Patty and they can act as your save-the-dates. Music?"

"Don't care."

"Ok. Food, decorations, music, clothes…Jess, you need to get that sorted quickly as well. With the holidays coming, you don't have a lot of time."

"Oh, someone finally remembers I exist." He smirked and Rory leaned in, kissing him quickly.

"Sorry, we got whirled into this. You get to ask for anything you want."

"I don't care. My input ends with the person I marry. Everything else can go to hell." He whispered in her ear, making Rory's smile grow bigger. "Whatever makes you happy is fine by me." He whispered again and she kissed him, squeezing his hand tightly under the table while Lorelai watched the two of them, a happy smile on her lips as well.

"Stop being cute!" She tried to sound angry and they pulled apart, Rory focusing her attention back on her mother.

"Sorry. I know this is pointless but I suppose I should ask you officially if you want to be my matron of honor."

"Only if you never refer to me as that ever again!" She pointed her finger at her daughter, biting down a few happy tears. "Who else do you want to stand up for you?"

"Lane and Paris." She smiled. "If Paris can make it. God, I forgot to tell her about this."

"We'll drop by her place when we go to Boston. We need to go tell your dad as well. Preferably before he receives the invitation in the mail." Jess reminded her and she nodded.

"Next weekend?"

"Sure."

"Go to Friday night dinner then drive to Boston on Saturday?"

"Two weeks in a row?" Jess grimaced at the thought of yet another dinner.

"We can tell grandpa about the name. He'll love it."

"Ok, let's go back to planning your big redneck wedding here, kids!" Lorelai chimed in the conversation, grinning.

"Could you say that a little louder? I don't think they heard you in Hartford." Rory hissed at her mother.

"Hey, you're marrying your cousin. I'm allowed to make all the redneck jokes I want." She winked at her daughter quickly, making her laugh and relax again.

"I thought I told you to never refer to him as that. Ever."

"Nope, sorry, not going to happen. For the next month and a half, I have full rights to remind you of the fact that you're marrying your cousin."

"Hey, we dated first so, in all fairness, you married my ex-boyfriend's at the time uncle."

"But you were broken up when Luke and started dating. The first or the second time. Or, you know, when we actually got married. So it doesn't count."

"Why are we having this debate?"

"I don't know." Lorelai shook her head. "It's fun, I guess. I'm going to go call Sookie and ask her to come over."

"Ok."

When they were left alone, Rory snuggled closer to Jess, resting her chin on his shoulder, smiling. "This is actually happening. Thank goodness they got married."

"Why?"

"Do I need to remind you of what happened at their wedding?"

"Something happened at their wedding?" Jess smirked, leaning in and kissing her quickly. "Because I only seem to remember a certain bridesmaid's dress annoying the fuck out of me with its stubborn zipper."

"It makes me sound easy if you put it like that."

"You jumped in bed with me." He pointed out, kissing her again.

"Oh, yeah, and you were arguing."

"You see, I know I'm irresistible. You didn't have a choice there, really. And I'm pretty sure most things happened after their wedding."

"Only because you stopped me from overreacting."

"I have that effect on you." Jess kissed her cheek quickly, smirking. "And I was hoping for a repeat of what had happened, annoying zipper not included."

"Just that, huh?" She grinned, kissing him quickly. "Because I seem to remember that conversation going slightly differently…"

* * *

_Almost five years before, the morning after. _

_Walking in the inn room, Jess smiled when he saw her sleeping figure still in bed-his bed. Sitting on the edge of the bed, he put the coffee cup in his hand on the nightstand and tried to say something but before he had a chance to, he saw her eyes flutter open slowly. Spotting him, she opened her eyes and sat up, taking the sheet with her and wrapping it around herself. _

"_What are you doing here?" _

"_It's my room."_

_As pieces of the previous night started coming back to her, she closed her eyes, burying her face in her hands. "We didn't, did we…oh, shit." She realized, not looking at him, blushing furiously. "Shit, I can't believe I did that! Can't believe we did that! God, I can't believe this happened!" She started rambling, making him smirk. _

"_Nothing happened beyond two people getting drunk at a wedding and having sex. Don't make this into something complicated."_

"_How can I not? Jess…it's us." She whispered, finally looking at him again and biting her lip. _

"_Yeah, I'm fully aware of that." _

"_So how the hell can you claim this is not complicated?"_

"_It's not. It was tequila, champagne and about 5 other types of alcohol into one. Think that's why they tell you to never mix your drinks? Really, I'm shocked anything happened. And impressed with myself." _

"_Why are you so calm about this?" She wrapped her sheet tighter around her body, slightly more relaxed._

"_Why aren't you?"_

"_I've…never done this before. And with you…" She bit her lip again, blushing and looking away from him. _

"_Have sex? Because it didn't seem that way to me last night."_

"_Have a one night stand, you jerk." She met his eyes again, still blushing. _

"_Really? Isn't college supposed to be a time of debauchery and random sexual encounters?"_

"_Don't bring college up. You and Philadelphia were as close as I ever got to…that. This." _

_Avoiding her comment, not wanting to make the conversation more complicated than it was, Jess smirked. "Huh, good thing I was here to fix that gap in your life then. This way, your autobiography will be more interesting." Picking up the cup of coffee again, he handed it to her, smiling. "I assume you still live on this stuff."_

"_Thank you." She nodded, smiling back at him and taking the cup from him. Sipping from the mug, she looked at him again, still smiling. "Are you always this nice to women in the morning?"_

"_I don't know, we might have to do this again and then you can see for yourself." He smirked, making her laugh and shake her head before drinking from her mug again and putting it back on the nightstand._

"_You haven't changed. Not the good parts, anyway." _

"_I learned to deal with the bad parts by putting them in books." He admitted, suddenly serious and she cupped his face in her hand, caressing his skin slowly with her fingers. Instinctively, he kissed her palm softly and she looked at him, smiling at his small gesture. And then, almost without thinking, they started leaning into each other, slowly, before their lips met again. Wrapping one arm around her waist, propping himself up with the other one, he smiled through their kiss when his fingers only reached her bare back and he leaned even more into her. Pulling away, she rested her forehead against his, neither one of them opening their eyes._

"_That might have made things slightly complicated." He whispered, not moving and she nodded. _

"_I…"_

"_It's fine. Complicated doesn't mean anything." He answered when she didn't finish her sentence._

"_We've always been complicated, haven't we?"_

"_Yeah, we have." He nodded and she crushed her mouth to his again, smiling, her other hand moving up to cup his face as well._

"_I…just…want to...can we…?" She didn't finish her sentence, pulling back instead and looking at him, hoping he'll understand what she was asking._

"_Let's find some breakfast." Running his hand over her back, he kissed her shoulder, nodding. "We'll talk."_

* * *

"And five years later, here we are. Ready to get married and with a baby on the way." She whispered the last part of her sentence, smiling happily. "I blame it on that cup of coffee, really."

"So, am I always that nice to you in the morning?"

"You're nicer." Rory smiled again, squeezing his hand. "I love you."

Smirking before he kissed her again, Jess wrapped his arm around her.

"You know we can't tell the kid how we got together this time, how we found out about its existence…pretty much anything about our life together."

"When she's older and understand why we might have been panicked at the thought of being parents, we'll tell her that bit. As for the first part…how about we stick to 'we had breakfast'?" She stuck out her tongue then kissed him again quickly.

Walking in the diner with Sookie next to her, Lorelai smiled. "Look who I found!"

"Sookie!" Rory jumped from her place, hugging the woman quickly.

"Cupcake, you're getting married!"

"Yes, I am!"

Sitting down at the table and pulling out a notebook, the older woman smile. "Ok, what do you want for food? This is what we I had planned for the other wedding, but just say what you want and I'll make it."

"Jess, can you help with this?" She looked at her fiancé, a pained look in her eyes. "I don't think my opinions on food can be trusted right now."

"Ok." He nodded, squeezing her hand quickly, while Lorelai picked up her son from his highchair, leaning over the notebook as well and they all started looking at the list.


	17. Strippers and vows

**A/N: Thank you for the reviews. Since you guys seemes to like it, there will be more flashbacks in future chapter. Thank you again and I hope you enjoy this chapter.**

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* * *

Strippers and vows**

A couple of hours later, Rory and Jess walked out of the diner, getting ready to head for Lane's house.

"Do I have to go?" He grumbled when she pointed to the newsstand and the two women standing in front of it.

"We don't have time to be lazy about this."

"I know, I'm just curious why I have to come with you when you tell them." Jess smirked, leaning in and kissing her. "And you never let me as lazy as I want to be anyway."

"Be nice and you can be as lazy as you want to on our honeymoon."

"Honeymoon?"

"The thing that usually follows weddings?"

"The one where people have insane amounts of sex? I'm down with that." He grinned, pushing her hair out of his way and kissing her neck.

"If you'll still think I'm attractive…" She looked away from him, biting her lip. Stopping them in the middle of the town square, he took both her hands in his, waiting for her to look at him again.

"Why wouldn't I think you're attractive?"

"I'll have a bump." She whispered, lowering her eyes again. "And then I'll get fat and I'll probably get stretch marks and I'll be awful."

"Please tell me you're kidding."

"I'm not kidding, Jess. I'm going to get massive. Remember mom before she gave birth? Yeah, that's how big I'll be!"

"First off, I seriously doubt you'll get massive before the wedding." Jess placed a small kiss on her lips, smiling. "Second and most important, I don't care how big you get." He pulled her into a hug, kissing her temple. "You're still mine and that's still my baby and if I hear you talking like that again, I'll be so angry it won't be pretty."

"Promise?"

"Yes, I promise I'll be very, very angry." He leaned in and kissed her, then hugged her again. "You're going to kill me someday with your craziness."

"I'm sorry." She whispered, kissing his cheek.

"Yeah, well, next time you're worried about anything, tell me about it sooner, ok? I don't want you stressing yourself over some stupid idea."

"Because of the baby?"

"Because I love you. Baby comes second." He kissed her temple again, hugging her as close to him as he could. "Go on, let's go tell them and get this over with."

As soon as they reached the newsstand, Rory smiled at the two women.

"Hey."

"Oh, hi, doll! Where are you going?"

"Lane's house. I'm going to ask her to be my bridesmaid."

"Really? Did you set a date already?"

"Yeah." Rory nodded. "The inn is empty at the end of December and we decided we don't want to wait." She wrapped her arm around Jess' waist, resting her head on his shoulder.

"Oh, wow, that's fast."

"It just works well for us. And really, we've been together for this long, the wedding can't be here soon enough. Can you let everyone know? Thanks!" She rambled quickly, then kissed Jess' cheek. "We should go now, lots of things to do." Walking away from the two women before they had a chance to ask anything else, she smiled.

"Done."

"You know they're going through every single scenario in their heads right now?"

"I know. That's why I wanted to get out of there fast. I don't want to lie if they ask me if I'm pregnant. I would, but I would hate having to."

"Ok." He draped his arm over her shoulder, pulling her closer to him and kissing her temple. "But we are probably going to hear about a million shotgun wedding comments before we get this done."

"I know. But we both know that's not why we're getting married."

"Isn't it? Because I was totally ready to leave you and move to Mexico with my mistress before this happened." He smirked as she snuggled closer to him.

"You can go. We won't miss you that much."

"Oh, snap. Look who's being mean to her suffering fiancé."

"You started it." She reminded him, stopping them and kissing him before they reached Lane's door. "The second you make a comment like that when I'm going through some odd mood swing, you're so going to regret it."

Kissing her one more time, Jess smirked, running his hand over her arm. "I'll deal with it. With you."

"You better."

"Go on, ring the doorbell." He kissed her one more time, pointing to the door. Before Rory could reach the door, Mrs. Kim walked out the house and saw the two. Walking to them, she looked sternly at Rory.

"I heard you're getting married."

"Yes, we are."

"Good." Not saying anything else, the woman stormed off, leaving them looking at each other.

"You think that was her way of congratulating us?"

"I…have no idea." Jess smirked, kissing her cheek. Walking to the front door, Rory rang the doorbell and Lane opened the door after a few seconds, jumping and hugging her best friend when she saw her.

"Rory!"

"Hey!" Rory hugged her back while Jess watched them, his arms folded across his chest. Seeing him, Lane waved and he nodded, waiting for them to break apart.

"Hi, Lane."

"Hey." She smiled at him, then moved out of their way, shooing them inside the house.

"Don't tell me I missed Zach and the boys again!"

"Sorry. They're at the park. I was getting ready to join them after I finished banging my head against a wall after talking to my mother."

"Yeah, we ran into her. She said good."

"What?"

"She asked if we're getting married, I confirmed, she said good. I think that's a good sign?"

"I think so." The young woman confirmed.

"Ok, we don't have a lot of time because we have to drive to Philadelphia and all that, but we were kind of wondering if you're doing anything at the end of December."

"Not that I know of. Why?"

"Would you do me the honor of being my bridesmaid?"

After a few second, Lane looked at her. "You're getting married?"

"Yes. You knew that."

"Yeah, but…you're getting married in a month?"

"A month and a half, really." Rory nodded, smiling.

"And you want me to be your bridesmaid?"

"I won't do it if you're not there."

"And you're really, seriously telling me that this is actually happening in a month and a half and this isn't just some kind of mean joke?"

"Damn it, she's on to us. Guys, you can bring out the cameras!" Jess announced, smirking and Rory shot him a look, trying to look angry.

"Yes, Lane, this is actually happening at the end of December. We've talked to mom, we have the inn, menu is set, dress shopping will probably be on Friday, because that's what makes the most sense and everything else has been set in motion. So? Be my bridesmaid?"

"Yes!" The other girl yelped, jumping from her seat and hugging her friend tightly again, both of them grinning. "God, I'm so happy for you. Is there anything I can do to help?"

"Come with me and mom on Friday and find a bridesmaid dress you absolutely love. Nothing more to do than that."

"That I can do. And plan your bachelorette party."

"This party better not involve strippers." Jess rolled his eyes, making them laugh.

"Her last chance of seeing another man naked and you want to take that away from her?"

"Lane, I don't know how much fun a stripper would be without me drinking."

"Damn it, I didn't think of that. That settles it, you're getting two parties: one now, one after the baby comes. I'm sure Lorelai will back me up on this."

"Lorelai will back up anything that involves drinking and naked men." Jess smirked again.

"We'll talk." Rory grinned, squeezing Jess' hand.

"So, how's the other thing going?"

"Everything is fine. 9 days left until ultrasound day!" She grinned excitedly, making Lane giggle as well.

"Oh, wow, fun. Almost makes me want to have another one."

"Ok, you do remember I'm in the room and therefore part of this conversation? Can we save those comments for when I'm not here?" He chuckled, rubbing Rory's back slowly.

"Hey, if you think that was bad, I can pull out the birth story." Lane threatened and he shook his head.

"No, thanks."

Lane tried to reply but suddenly she remembered something. "Shoot, I was supposed to meet Zach and the boys half an hour ago!"

"Sorry, we've been keeping you. We should head back home anyway." Rory stood up and Jess followed.

"Oh, yeah, how dare you interrupt my day with trivial business like asking me to be your bridesmaid? Shame on you!" The other young woman smiled as Rory hugged her again.

"Thank you, Lane."

"You're welcome."

"We'll walk you to the park."

* * *

Hours later, they were back in their living room in Philadelphia. Walking out of the kitchen with two cups of coffee in her hands, Rory placed them on the nightstand, then sat down on the couch between Jess' legs and leaned back against his chest, smiling happily. Wrapping his arms around her, Jess smiled, his hands stopping on her stomach and kissed her temple.

"Is something wrong?" He asked and she put her hands over his, smiling.

"No."

"Sure?"

"I'm tired."

"And?"

"And…" She dragged out the word, biting her lip. "I have a favor to ask. A really big favor. A favor that you're going to hate."

"Does it have anything to do with that crazy moment you had today?"

"What crazy moment?"

"The whole 'you're going to get ugly and I won't like you anymore' crazy moment." He reminded her, kissing her neck.

"No. But…"

"I know, you're crazy." Jess hugged her even closer to him, kissing her neck again. "Beautiful and crazy. And my threat still stands. But if you start feeling ugly, let me know and I'll do my best to convince you just how beautiful I think you are." He started trailing kisses up her neck, stopping below her ear. "And how much I want you."

"Jess…" She whispered, turning around and kissing him in the uncomfortable position. "I love you."

"Crazy." Jess smirked, kissing her one more time. "Ok, so what's this really big favor you want to ask?"

Looking away from him again and squeezing his hand in hers, Rory bit her lip. "You can say no if you want to and it doesn't really mean that much and it will be ok if you say no, because I know it's very short notice and I know you probably don't want to but…can we write our own vows for the wedding? Please?"

"Oh, you said please. This is serious."

"Yeah." She bit her lip, nodding.

"On a scale of 1 to 10, how much does this mean to you?"

"That doesn't matter. If you don't want to do this, we don't have to. I don't want you to feel uncomfortable or bad on our wedding day."

Sighing, Jess ran his fingers over her stomach.

"I don't know, Ror…"

"It's fine, we don't have to do it. Just though, I'd ask, just in case, you know…" She kept chewing on her lip, trying not to sounds disappointed.

"Just in case I had decided that having to stand in front of all those people and being nice and talking to them and all that wasn't enough, so I had decided I wanted to be a sap as well in front of them?"

"Well, if you put it like that…" Rory sighed, squeezing his hand in hers. "Sorry I brought it up."

"I'll do it on two conditions." Jess sighed, running a hand through his hair.

Moving from her place to sit next to him, Rory grinned happily, kissing him full force on the mouth. "Name them."

"First off, I am allowed to use quotes. As in if I decide the whole freaking thing is going to be a quote, you won't object, as long as it's a nice, meaningful…" He grimaced as he said that word, making her snicker. "Whatever you want to call it quote."

"You can quote a whole freaking book if you want to. I just want the ceremony to be more personal than just saying the same things everyone says." She nodded, still grinning. "And second?"

"This one you won't like as much. I don't wear a tux. I swear, I'll buy a new suit, new tie, new shirt, new anything you want me to, just don't make me wear a tux. Once was so much more than enough."

Weighing the options in her head, Rory bit her lip, looking at him. She tilted her head to the side, her teeth still chewing on her lip and he knew he'd won. "You'll buy a new suit?"

"Yes."

"And I can come with you when you buy it?"

"Sure."

"And your tie will match the wedding colors?"

"We have colors?"

"Not yet, but we might."

"Fine, in case we do pick wedding colors, my tie will match them."

"Promise?" She pointed her finger at him and he nodded solemnly.

"Yes."

"Deal." She nodded, jumping from her place and crushing her mouth to his, smiling. "That was too easy."

"I had no chance of saying no. At least I got something out of it." He smirked back at her, kissing her.

"Love you."

"I know." Jess pulled her closer to him, kissing the top of her head as she rested it on his shoulder again. "You excited about this?"

"Yeah." She nodded, looking at him again. "You?"

"Slightly less now that I have to find something to say." He placed a quick kiss on her lips, his hand cupping her face.

"We don't have to…"

"I've already said yes. Don't give me a chance to change my mind."

"Ok." She nodded happily, kissing him again. "Thank you."

"What for?"

"Because I know how much you're going to hate it and yet you're still doing it because you know how much it means to me. And really, if you change your mind any time before the wedding, we don't actually have to do this, ok?"

"Doesn't doing whatever I can to make you happy fall under the mother of my child clause?" He chuckled, kissing her.

"Does that include dinner? Because I'm starving." Rory smiled, placing quick kisses on his lips, making him smirk.

"You're just a slave driver, you know that, right?"

"You love it." She grinned, picking up the phone from the nightstand. "And dinner is going to magically appear at the front door, so you don't have anything to do."

"You're getting take-away just so you can bug me with more questions from your wedding to-do list, aren't you?"

"No." She shook her head, smiling. "I've annoyed you enough with stuff for the wedding today. You get to do anything you want for the rest of the night."

"Really?"

"Yeah." Rory kissed him one more time before starting to dial the phone number for the take-away place. "Usual?" She looked at Jess and he nodded, kissing her shoulder. After she placed the order, she picked up her coffee cup, making a face when she realized it was cold. Standing up and taking the cup from her, Jess kissed the top of her head before picking up the other mug as well and pointing to the kitchen.

"I'll go make a fresh pot and then we can look over your list until food comes."

"Jess, you don't have to…"

"Do you want something to eat before dinner comes?" He ignored her comment and she smiled up at him, shaking her head.

"Thank you."


	18. Perks of adulthood

**A/N: Thank you for the reviews, you guys rock. **

**Fluffy(and everyone else who commented on this): sadly, it's a bit too soon to know the sex of a baby. My research says week 20. Frustrating, I know and I would love to just do that scene and not have to type "it" or "he or she" every time, but that's how it goes. I'm sorry. **

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* * *

Perks of adulthood**

A couple of days later, Jess walked into their bedroom, holding two mugs in his hands.

"Get that thing out!" Rory yelped from the bed, burying her face in the pillow.

"What?"

"Coffee! Away from me! Now!" She grumbled again, making him shake his head. Walking out and dropping the mugs on the living room table, he walked back to the room, closing the door behind him and crouched down next to the bed.

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing. I'm just fucking great." She grumbled again, rolling to the other side so she wouldn't have to look at him. Sighing, Jess ran a hand through his hair and stood back up, leaning against the desk.

"What did I do this time?"

"You got me pregnant, that's what you fucking did." She snapped again, making him laugh. "Oh, great, laugh at me. That's what I fucking need."

"Ror, I'm not laughing at you." He walked back to the bed, sitting on the edge and tried to put his hand on her arm, but she quickly pulled away from him. "I'm just confused when you being pregnant and, for the record, me bringing you coffee in bed became bad things. And while I'm on the subject of things that confuse me, why are you allowed to curse but the second I say something, I get chastised like our kid could learn the big bad words by osmosis?"

"Would it kill you to be serious for 5 minutes?"

"Ok, serious face." He smirked, lying down on the bed next to her. "Ror, what's wrong?" He asked, his voice softer when she didn't say anything for a few minutes. Turning around and sighing, she looked at him.

"I feel like shit."

"Morning sickness?"

"I think so. And all the flipping around isn't helping, so now can you please move somewhere I can't see you when I snap at you because I'm crazy?" She smiled softly, making him chuckle.

"Will do. Lift your hand or something to let me know you no longer want to see me, but I still have to stay within earshot."

"Thank you." She smiled again, taking his hand in hers.

"You think food would help?"

"No."

"Not even mashed potatoes?" He smiled, knowing that was her usual comfort food when she was sick.

"Jess, it's not even 8 o'clock."

"So?"

"Mashed potatoes are not breakfast food."

"Fuck it, you're a grown-up. Isn't eating completely inappropriate foods any time you feel like it the greatest perk of adulthood?"

"I always thought it was going to strip clubs and being able to buy alcohol."

"Those are 2 and 3 on the list. Pizza for breakfast? Definitely number one."

"You must realize I grew up in mom's house. Pizza for breakfast isn't all that unusual."

"So why are you saying no to mash then?"

"What if it makes me feel worse?"

"Then we throw it out. Or leave it and eat it cold tonight."

"This baby has no chance of ever having any healthy eating habits."

"We'll teach it to eat all the vegetables and then pass ours to its plate when we're having dinner with the witch."

"You're insane."

Looking down at her stomach, Jess smirked, trying not to laugh. "Kid, that was a perfect example of what is referred to as a pot calling the kettle black."

"Don't make me laugh. Sudden movements don't help either." She tried to sound mad, pointing her finger at him.

"Ok." He nodded, kissing her forehead quickly. "I'll be right back."

A few minutes later, he cracked the door open, keeping the bowl outside the room.

"Can I bring food inside?" Finally seeing the room empty, he walked it, putting the bowl on the desk. Noticing the door to the bathroom was half open, he walked to it, knocking softly. "Ror, you ok?" Pushing the door open completely, he saw her sitting on the floor next to the toilet bowl and walked to her, sitting down behind her.

"This is all your fucking fault." She sighed, leaning back on him and he nodded, kissing her temple.

"Ok."

"Argue with me, damn it."

"Yelling at me makes you feel better?"

"Yes."

"Then it's not me, it's your fault this happened. You just got pregnant to make sure I marry you." He chuckled, smoothing her hair down. "Better?"

"Not if you don't give me a chance to actually yell at you."

"Oh, ok. Sorry." Jess smirked again. "Want to try again?"

"You know everyone will think that we're only getting married because of the baby."

"Yeah, well, everyone used to think that I am completely wrong for you and was going to ruin your life."

"Considering how I feel right now, they might have had a point." She grimaced as a new wave of nausea hit her.

"That's it, I now have leverage for the rest of my life. Be mean to me and I repeat that comment to the kid."

"Jess, I'm sitting on the bathroom floor, having just become very close friends with our toilet and trying to get up because I have to get to work soon. I'm allowed to be less than freaking happy for a few seconds."

"I was kidding." He kissed her temple again. "Skip work today."

"Can't. Work, money, baby not sleeping on the floor."

"One day won't kill anyone."

"No, but I may need free days to plan wedding stuff and for the honeymoon and all that. I think I need to learn to function through this."

"We can skip the honeymoon. That would mean you'd have more days you can take off now."

"No. I want to spend that time with you."

"You're being stubborn."

"No, I'm being rational. We only have six months as husband and wife before we switch to being parents. We should enjoy them."

"It's not like marriage is going to be that big of a change, other than having to get used to wearing a freaking ring all the time."

"You don't have to wear a wedding ring if you don't want to."

"I want to." He smiled, rubbing her arm. "It will stop the hordes of women throwing themselves at me."

"In your dreams maybe." Rory snickered.

"What, you think you're the only one who thinks I'm attractive?"

"Who said I think you're attractive?" She laughed again, snuggling closer to him. "I'm only marrying you because I'm pregnant, after all."

"Think we can have fun with this thing? First dance to Rod Stewart? Or go for the Roy C original?"

"We'll ask dad if he can stand by the altar holding a shotgun for the ceremony."

Kissing her temple again, Jess squeezed her hand. "Feeling better?"

"A bit."

"Enough to get up from the bathroom floor?"

"Enough to try."

Standing up, Jess helped her up as well and they walked to their bedroom. Sitting down on the chair, Rory smiled.

"Success."

"Yes. Now ready to try food?" He pointed to the bowl on the desk and she shrugged, picking up the fork.

"Worst that can happen is we end back there again." She took two bites from the bowl, then put the fork back down, grimacing. "This isn't helping."

"Anything else you can think of that might help?"

"No." She stood up, walking to the dresser slowly and sighing. "I hate work."

* * *

Later that night, Jess walked inside their living room, dropping his stuff on the table next to the front door. Finding Rory laying down on the couch, the remote in her hand, he sat down next to her.

"Hey."

"They were being fucking ironic."

"Who was?"

"Whoever named it morning sickness."

"Still sick?" Jess ran his hand through her hair, trying to calm her down.

"No. But I was until after 2 o'clock. Let me tell you, people are stupid. Someone burned something in the microwave at work, which of course led to another throwing up session and then I had to try and explain to Marcia why I wasn't eating. God, they're like Stars Hollow people. Is it so hard for everyone to mind their own business?"

"Tell me you didn't go a whole day without eating."

"Had a sandwich around 3 and then raided the fridge when I got home."

"Anything left?"

"Some frozen pizza, I think."

"Seriously?"

"I was starving." She smiled at him.

"Good." He nodded, running his hand down her back. "Will you kill me if I try to kiss you?"

"Why would I…?"

"You're angry. I'm not taking any chances." He chuckled and she sat up, kissing him. "Not dead yet." Jess remarked, leaning in for another kiss.

"I'm sorry I keep going crazy on you. I swear, I don't know what's wrong with me."

"It's fine." He leaned back against the couch and she rested her head on his shoulder.

"No, it's not. I go freaking mental and you're so great and I want to tell you how much I appreciate it."

"The way I figure, you have to deal with all the really unpleasant bits. Being nice when you're insane is the kind of the least I can do." Jess kissed the top of her head, smiling.

"Am I really that bad?"

"No, you're not." He lied, rubbing her arm.

"I love you." She lifted her head, kissing him. "And you are perfect."

"Now change?" He chuckled, kissing her again.

"No, stay exactly the same. The guy who wrote the musical got it all wrong." Rory kissed him one more time before pointing at the phone. "Dinner?"

"Didn't you say you emptied the fridge when you got home?"

"Hungry again." She shrugged.

"Ok." Jess picked up the phone and looked at her. "What are we getting?"

"Indian and your choice of movie tonight?"

"We had Indian food two nights ago." He made a face and she stuck out her tongue, giggling.

"Well, I'm in the mood for Indian again. Baby wants it." She pointed to her stomach. "That's my story and I'm sticking to it."

"Can you get Indian while I get Chinese? Or make frozen pizza? Or something?"

"Yeah, sure." Rory nodded, kissing him again.

A while later, they were still on the couch, watching a movie, her head resting on his shoulder while his arm was wrapped around her.

"You know, it's unfair that you ate half my dinner." Jess complained, kissing the top of her head.

"That reminds me, I was looking at wedding rings today."

"How are the two in any way connected?" He chuckled, pulling back to look at her.

"They're not, I'm just changing the subject so you don't have a chance to complain. Your dinner looked better than mine, deal with it." She stuck out her tongue, laughing.

"Tyrant."

"Adorable future wife. Stick to my official title, please."

"Insane future wife, how does that sound?"

"Eh, as long as it has future wife in the description, I can deal with it." She smiled, kissing him.

"Ok, so you mentioned rings?"

"Yeah, I bookmarked a few pages. Can you look at them later and tell me if you like any of them?"

"I was thinking something along the lines of leaving work early tomorrow, picking you up and then finding a jewelry store. This was you can try them on and everything."

"Oh, good plan. I can see how they look with my engagement ring." Rory looked down at her hand, smiling again.

"You're still going to wear that one as well?"

"I like it." She shrugged. "Why wouldn't I wear it?"

"Because you'll have the official, "no one else can touch you ever again without me killing them" ring."

"You're being possessive and jealous again."

"You like it." He pointed out, kissing her.

"I do." She nodded, cupping his face in her hand. Smiling when she realized her choice of words, she kissed him again. "A month and a half until we get to say the official ones."

"Yes, and that kid better be nice to you so I don't have to plan this by myself." He smirked, his arm circling her waist.

"Just to be on the safe side, can we plan the ceremony for the afternoon? If this isn't over, I would prefer if I didn't have to race to the bathroom in the middle of saying my vows."

Suddenly looking serious, Jess cleared his throat. "I now pronounce you…wait, where's the bride going? Why is she suddenly green?"

Giggling, Rory kissed him. "I may just realize that it could be the worst decision of my life and run away from you, did you consider that?"

"I'll make sure there are no cars around."

"What about the horses?"

"You'll go near them?"

"Ok, maybe not." She laughed again. "Motorcycle?"

"You can't ride one." He pointed out, smirking.

"Bicycle?"

"Ok, you can run away from me on a bicycle, while wearing a wedding dress. You can join a circus after."

"Why do you have to make fun of me, despite having being tortured by your son for hours today?" She pouted, leaning in and kissing him quickly.

"Because it's fun? And really, you started this by saying that marrying me could potentially be the worst decision of your life."

"What, did I hurt your feelings?" She ran her hand down his chest, smiling.

"Yes." Sighing dramatically, Jess looked at her. "Yet another night of crying myself to sleep while you just don't care."

"Aw, how sad. Maybe you should marry someone who cares instead."

"Ok, that's it. From now on, I'll be damned if I microwave anything for you before 8AM just because you're sick and I'm trying to be nice."

"You see, a proper future husband would have made it from scratch."

"I'm just improper in that case." He smirked, pulling her closer to him and crushing his mouth to hers. "How will you deal?"

"I'll have to work hard." Rory shook her head, smiling. "Only because I love you. Despite all these obvious flaws."

"How lucky for me."

Running her hand through his hair, she kissed him again. "Promise we'll make it and not end up hating each other. I just…don't want to end up bitter and hating you and never be able to look back at this time without feeling miserable. Don't want you to hate me either. Be in the lucky half, the one that stays together."

"You know I can't promise that." Jess suddenly turned more serious, cupping her face in his hand, his fingers playing in her hair. "We can try, that's about as much as I can give you."

"And it's ok to be scared about this ending?"

"Depends on what scares you."

"Not having you in my life anymore. I don't know how I'd be able to deal with that."

"It's ok." He pulled her in for a kiss, smiling softly. "But I'm not going anywhere."

"Even when I am crazy?"

"Even when." He pulled her in for a hug, wrapping his arms around her and kissing the top of her head while she snuggled closer to him. "I'm sticking around for a long, long time."

"Promise?"

"I promise."


	19. The One where Emily Saves the Day

**A/N: Thank you for the reviews, I hope you like this chapter. **

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**The One where Emily Saves the Day**

Friday morning, Jess sat down on the bed, looking at Rory who was still lying under the blankets, hugging a pillow.

"You sure you don't want the car?"

"Jess, for the millionth time, no. There's a bathroom on the train, it's preferable to me having to stop on the side of the road every twenty minutes."

"I really hate knowing you're going out when you're feeling like this. Stay home, fuck getting a dress."

"And I should get married in my pajamas? We don't have a lot of time as it is, I can't afford to waste any more on this."

"Stubborn." He leaned over, smoothing her hair down and kissed her forehead. "You're going to drive me crazy one day."

"I have this thing planned. If I don't eat all morning, I feel almost human for an hour around 10. I'll get myself to the station and get on the train in that hour, mom will meet me at the other end and then Hartford awaits. And I can't drive you crazy, you already are."

"Crazy about you." He chuckled, making her laugh.

"Oh, smooth. You're only saying that because I feel like crap."

"Prove it." Kissing her forehead again, Jess smirked.

"I love you for being ridiculous to make me feel better." She smiled, ignoring him.

"That's not proof." He ignored her comment as well, smiling. "Call me if you need anything. I may be either late or early getting to the dungeon, depending on how traffic gets."

"You've stopped calling it the castle?"

"It doesn't have the evil connotation I'm looking for unless I use its full title."

"Go to work, crazy man." She smiled, looking at him.

"I hope the kid lets you shop in peace."

"It's your son, there's no chance of that happening."

"Hey, I resent that. I'm always nice to you."

"You distract me any time I try to do anything. This is his way of doing that. Are we telling them tonight about his name?"

"I don't know." Jess shrugged. "Do you want to?"

"Can we wait until after we know if it's a boy or a girl? Because if it's a girl, this is a moo point." She snickered, squeezing his hand.

"We can wait until the baby's born, if you want to. And stop watching reruns of _'Friends'_. Television will rot your brain slowly."

"I was on the couch last night and too lazy to move. My book was all the way in the bedroom."

"Oh, greatness, you couldn't possibly be expected to walk all that way."

"Of course not. That's why I have you, to carry my books for me."

"And you, when you fall asleep on the couch. Again."

"Tired." Rory pouted, smiling. "Your child, your fault."

"Yes, ma'am."

"Is there anything you want for my dress?"

"I'm supposed to have an opinion on this?"

"I don't know. I want to make you happy." She smiled, running her hand down his chest. "So if you have any requests, now's the time to make them."

"I don't care. But I would prefer it if you'd stick to white or something close to that."

"No crazy red dress?"

"Not unless you want me to mock you on our wedding day."

"You wouldn't do that, Jess."

"Try me." He smirked. "Anyway, I should go." He leaned over, kissing her quickly. "Have fun dress shopping. I love you."

"Love you too." She smiled, waving at him as he left the room. Hearing the front door closing, she buried her face in the pillow, sighing.

* * *

Much later that afternoon, Lorelai and Rory walked out of yet another store, having dropped Lane at her house earlier that day. Lorelai looked at her daughter and saw her bottom lip starting to quiver in a desperate attempt to stay calm.

"Don't worry, hon, we'll find something." She wrapped her arm around her daughter, hoping to comfort her, but Rory started crying, shaking her head.

"It's not…just…why?"

"I'm going to need a complete sentence."

"They're just…so…!" Rory sighed again, this time getting angrier and Lorelai shook her head.

"Ok, that's it. No more shopping for us." Lorelai opened the door to her car, waiting for Rory to get in and starting driving in the direction of her mother's house, cursing silently. Once they reached the house, they both got out, Rory still trying to calm herself down and Lorelai rang the doorbell. When Emily opened the door, she looked at the two of them.

"You're early."

"Dress shopping went badly. Can we come in now? Rory's not feeling great." Wrapping her arm around Rory again, she helped her inside while Emily stood to the side, then closed the door behind them, pointing to the living room.

"Do you want me to call my doctor?"

"She's ok, just angry. Right, sweetie?" She looked at her daughter and she nodded, sitting down on the couch.

"I swear, did they have to be so awful to me? There can't be any other reason for planning a quick wedding other than me being pregnant, no, of course not! It can't be because I love Jess or anything, it has to be because of a child!" She drank from the glass of water her mother offered her, then took a deep breath. "I know I'm pregnant but do they have to look at me like I'm scum? God, they make me so mad!"

"Lorelai, what happened?" Emily asked, looking at the two women on the other couch.

"We tried to find her a wedding dress, but most shop can't do anything this close to the wedding and a couple of sales assistants decided to comment on the fact that we need to find one this fast." Lorelai tried to explain quickly, then rubbed her daughter's arm. "Feeling better, hon?"

"No." Rory shook her head, wiping her cheeks quickly. "Why do they have to be like that?"

"Because they're awful people. You need to calm down and not let them get to you. This isn't good for you or that baby." She smiled, trying to calm her daughter. "We'll find something, don't worry. And if all else fails, you can always wear my dress."

"But I wanted my own dress! This is important to me, mom! And they all look at me like I'm dirt."

"Rory, you have to get used to the fact that a lot of people are going to assume this. And they're not actually wrong."

"I know!" She snapped, frustrated again. "This is about the way they treated me! It doesn't bother me that much that people think that I'm getting married because I'm pregnant, but to act like that's the only reason and treat me like I'm a disgusting, awful person who's making a huge mistake because of it…that's what gets me. They can talk all you want."

"Aw, honey…" Lorelai sighed, rubbing Rory's arm again. "We'll figure something out. And write a complaint letter first thing tomorrow, ok?"

"That's it." Emily stood up, putting her cup on the table.

"What?" The girls replied in unison, finally remembering she was in the room.

"I'll be damned if I let my granddaughter get treated like this. I'll go make a phone call. Rory, sit here and try to calm down. Lorelai, make sure that happens. I'll be back in five minutes."

As soon as she walked out of the room, the girls looked at each other, shaking their heads.

"What was that?" Rory asked, making Lorelai shrug.

"Beats me. Mom's finally lost that final marble."

"I heard that, Lorelai!" Emily exclaimed from the other room, making her daughter bite her lip, a terrified look on her face.

"Sorry!" She yelled back, looking back at Rory. "Her hearing still works though…" She tried to whisper this time.

"Lorelai!" Emily's voice boomed from the hallway and Lorelai sank back further down on the couch. A few minutes later, Emily appeared back in the room, holding a coat in her hand.

"Come on, lets' go!"

"Where are we going?" Lorelai asked, confused.

"Wedding dress shopping!" Emily sighed frustrated and Rory looked at her.

"What?"

"You're getting your perfect dress today. I called some people. Now are you ready to go?"

"Yeah." Rory hesitated slightly, focusing back on her mother and she shrugged, getting up. A few minutes late, Emily pulled her car over in the parking lot of a very fancy looking bridal shop and waited for the girls to get out as well before walking through the front door, being greeted by an older woman.

"Girls, this is a friend of mine, Monique. She's been running this shop for the past 30 years."

"What is it with all of mom's clothing friends being French? Miss Celine, Monique…you think some guy named Pierre makes her shoes?" Lorelai whispered in Rory's ear before smiling at the other woman.

"Nice to meet you. I'm Lorelai, this is Rory. Daughter and granddaughter."

"You're the bride?" The woman smiled at Lorelai but she shook her head, lifting her left hand in the air. "I'm done with getting married for a long time."

"Emily, why didn't you come to me when you needed a dress for Lorelai's wedding?" The woman turned her attention back to her friend.

"My daughter does whatever she wants. No, this is for my granddaughter." Emily beamed proudly, walking behind Rory and putting her arms on her shoulders. "She graduated from Yale."

"Grandma…" Rory rolled her eyes, blushing.

"Now, as I've told you, the wedding is going to be in a month and a half. You know kids these days, never take the time to plan anything. We need to find her the perfect dress!"

"Olga! Come here!" The woman yelled at one of the assistants. Taking Rory's hand, she started walking towards the centre of the store, while the other two women followed. "Do you know what you want?"

"Not really, no." Rory shook her head. "Should be white or something like that."

"So off-white is fine, but no cream?"

"No, cream is also fine, just nothing wild and crazy."

"Any preferences for waist, skirt type, sleeves, straps, bolero, veil?" The woman recited quickly and Rory looked at her mother, a desperate look in her eyes.

"Mommy, help!"

"Monique, can we just look around the store and see if we can find anything Rory likes?"

"No, that's not how we do it." Pointing to a couch and a couple of armchairs, the woman smiled. "Sit down, the dresses come to you!"

Grinning as she linked her arm through Rory's, Lorelai looked at the couches. "I like this place!"

"Sit down, Lorelai." Emily sighed, sitting down in one of the chairs. Sitting down as well next to Rory as the women started bringing dresses, Lorelai leaned towards her mother, smiling.

"Mom…thanks."

"Rory's only getting married once, we need to make sure it's everything she's ever dreamed of." Emily brushed it off quickly, not wanting to show any emotion in front of everyone.

A long parade of dresses later, Rory walked to the dressing room, getting ready to try on the first dress. Looking at the lovingly dubbed by Lorelai 'preliminary pile', the blonde young assistant smiled.

"Which one do you want to start with?"

"That one!" Rory pointed to a dress, making Lorelai laugh and look at Emily.

"I don't even know why we bothered choosing so many."

"She needs options, Lorelai."

"I think she's made up her mind." Lorelai smiled, standing up. "Need help, hon? These dresses require about a million people to put them on."

"Yes, please." Rory smiled as the assistant handed her the hanger and they walked towards the massive changing room.

"This dress is gorgeous, Rory." She smiled, waiting on the other side of the curtain for her daughter to call her when she needed help.

"Oh, wow."

"What? Is it on? Can I see?" She yelped, excited.

"Nope, just saw the price tag."

"And?"

"Hear that whooshing sound? It was this dress flying past my budget. For the entire wedding." She added, sighing.

"That bad?"

"I don't even know why I'm trying it on. There is no way I can ever afford this."

"What about money from your trust fund?"

"I don't know, Jess is being stubborn about that. Mom, back help please."

"Ok." Lorelai stepped in, not really paying attention and started looping the ribbon of fabric. "God, there are like a million loops on this."

"A zipper would have been too easy."

"But the two good pieces of news of the day are that even if you can't afford this one, now you at least know what you want in a dress and that grandma has caved on Jess."

"What?"

"She's accepted this is going to last. She actually said the words "Rory's only getting married once"."

"Seriously?"

"Yeah." Lorelai nodded, continuing to button up the dress. "See, approval."

"I'm shocked."

"It's probably because you won't actually have this kid without being married. That seems to make her happy."

"Whatever it is, I'm not questioning it. I need as little drama as I can get."

"Ok, done."

"Thanks. I'll be out in a second."

"I'll go tell grandma." Lorelai walked outside, sitting back down on the couch and looked at her mother. "She's dressed and coming over."

After a few second, Rory walked in the room, holding the dress up in her hands, looking at the two women.

"So? What do you think?"

"Rory, mirror. Now!" Lorelai pointed at the mirrors on the side of the room, trying to bite down happy tears and Rory walked to them, holding her breath. Spinning around in the white empire-waist dress, she pulled one of the thin straps up, trying not to cry as well.

"This is it, hon." Lorelai walked to her, fluffing the bottom of the dress. "It has to be it. Mom, what do you think?"

Walking to them, a couple of tears shining in her eyes as well, Emily smiled. "You look beautiful, Rory."

"Thank you." She finally responded, taking a deep breath.

"How do you feel?"

"Like a bride." She grinned, a couple of happy tears rolling down her cheeks.

"Do you want to try any of the others on?"

"No" Rory shook her head quickly.

"So you want it?" Emily asked and Monique stepped closer.

"Excellent choice. The lace is Belgian, Emily."

"Grandma, I can't…"

"We're taking it." Emily nodded in the direction of the woman and she smiled, nodding as well.

"I'll go get everything ready." The woman stepped away again, leaving them alone.

"Grandma, I really cannot afford this dress. No matter how much I love it." Rory remembered, her happy expression vanishing.

"Then consider it my shower present. Every woman should love her wedding dress."

"Grandma…" Rory bit her lip, not knowing what to say. "I can't…no. I can't accept it."

"Not another word. You're getting this dress." She dismissed it quickly and Rory hugged her, crying again.

"Thank you. Thank you so much."

Hugging her back, Emily smiled as well while Lorelai looked at them, her happy smile back now that everything was solved.

"I'll go deal with this while you change out of this." Emily motioned towards the counter, smiling again. "You're absolutely beautiful."

"Thank you." Rory smiled again, looking back at her mother. "I don't want to change out of it!" She yelped, swirling around happily.

"Always the sign of having the perfect dress. Jess will love it." Lorelai sighed.

"Shoot, Jess is supposed to be at grandma's house already. God, when did it get so late? And how is this shop still open?" Rory hurried towards the dressing room, glancing in the mirror one last time and Lorelai followed, starting to untie the back of the dress.

"I'm going to blame it on Emily magic. Also to blame for the shop being closed for everyone else but us…"

"Really?" Rory finally realized. "Wait, no one else came in all afternoon. Makes sense."

"And you being able to take this dress home with you tonight and all the other stuff that didn't happen when we were shopping for my dress."

"God, I can't believe this is actually happening."

"You look perfect in this dress."

"You think I'll still fit it?"

"I'm pretty sure you will. It's a bit wide on your waist anyway. If that's not a sign…"

"Can you fix it if I get too big for it?"

"While I am convinced that won't happen, I'm pretty sure I can. It's easier than if it had buttons or a zipper. More signs."

"Mom, you don't have to sell it to me. This is my dress." Smoothing the fabric down, Rory smiled again. "I don't want to take it off."

"I suppose we can stand here, while Jess and dad keep each other company. Ok, done." Lorelai laughed, stepping out again.

"Can I keep it at your place so Jess doesn't see it? There's no place to hide it in our apartment and no way he won't look if he finds the bag."

"Yeah, sure. I'll hang it in my closet. It'll be safe there."

"Thank you!"

"Don't worry about it. God, I'm starving." Lorelai remembered, making Rory laugh.

"Tell me about it. This whole feeding two people business is getting annoying."

"How are you doing?"

"Going from awful to fantastic in the span of an hour, but you know that. I have no idea what I'd do if Jess wasn't here for this."

"You'd deal. You're strong enough to do this on your own, if you had to."

Stepping out of the changing room, Rory hugged her mother, smiling. "Thank you."

"What for?"

"I never got it. And now I look at my life and realize how lucky I am to have you and Jess and Luke and grandma and everyone else here for this and I'm just…you're incredible for having raised me by yourself, you know that right? You know I think you're amazing and I have no idea what I'd do without you?"

"What is this, 'make mom cry' day?" Lorelai tightened her grip on her daughter, happy tears pooling in her eyes again.

"No, it's 'tell mom how much I love her' day."

"Aw, love you too, kid."

Letting go, Rory took a deep breath, wiping her cheeks. "I have to stop this crying thing."

"Blame it on hormones."

Rory picked up the dress from the room, running her hand over it again and they walked back in the other room.

"Finally!" Emily sighed as one of the women took the dress from Rory, walking into a back room with it. "She's going to put it in a garment bag for you."

"Thank you, grandma."

"You're welcome."

"Wedding crisis averted. Thanks, mom."

"Hurry up, it's almost time for dinner." Emily smiled at them as the other woman appeared from the back, handing Rory the bag.

"Here you go, miss. And best wishes."

"Thank you." Rory smiled again, holding the bag tightly.

A few minutes later, they arrived back at the house and Rory saw Jess' car in the driveway. Taking the garment bag from her, Lorelai chuckled.

"I'll go hide it in my car, you go tell the boy you have your dress."

"Thank you!" She started hurrying towards the house, leaving the other two women behind. Barging through the front door, she walked to the living room, jumping and hugging Jess who was standing in front of the drinks cart.

"I have a dress! And it's awesome and I love it so much." She hugged him tightly, kissing his cheek. "It's perfect!" Letting go of him, she finally noticed her grandfather who was sitting on the couch and blushed, looking at him.

"Sorry, grandpa. I didn't see you."

"It's fine. Where are Emily and your mother?"

"Outside, hiding my dress from him." She pointed at her fiancé, sitting down on the couch and he went back to pouring the drinks he was preparing before she came in.

"Rory, do you need something to drink?" Jess asked, handing Richard a glass and setting the other down on the table.

"Water, please."

"Ok." Jess poured her a glass of water before sitting back down in his chair, looking at her.

"So it went well?"

"Only after grandma saved the day. I'll tell you later about that." Rory smiled, squeezing his hand quickly.

Walking inside the room, Lorelai waved at the two men, while Jess stood up again.

"Nice to see, Mrs. Gilmore." He nodded in Emily's direction, suddenly uncomfortable again.

"You too, Jess. Sit down, there's no need to stand."

"Did Rory tell you she has a dress?" Lorelai smiled, trying to help him relax as he crashed in his chair again.

"Yeah, I heard." He smirked, looking at Rory.

"Mom, I'll get drinks."

"White wine for me, Lorelai." Emily requested and Lorelai poured two glasses before sitting next to her daughter.

"When's dinner, I'm starving?" She asked Emily, making her sigh.

"Lorelai, I just got in. You know that, I was with you. How do you expect me to know these things when I haven't had a chance to check?"

"A few minutes, dear." Richard looked at his wife. "The maid came by a while ago."

"Heard that, Lorelai? You won't have to die on inanition on my couch."

"Yes, mom." Lorelai sighed, drinking from her glass as the maid came in the room to announce dinner.


	20. Get the cane and shotgun ready

**A/N: Sorry for the delay in posting this chapter but...well, Christmas. So it goes. :) Thank you for the reviews, I hope you're having a great time and thank you so much for reading this. **

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* * *

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**Get the cane and shotgun ready**

Saturday around noon, Rory and Jess walked into the coffee shop where they were supposed to meet Chris. Sitting down at a table, they ordered their coffees, waiting for the other man to show up.

"Is it stupid that I'm nervous about this?" She asked, biting her lip and he leaned over, kissing her quickly.

"Do I need to remind you of the whole 'now they're going to know' moment you had when we told your grandparents? Nervous is fine."

"Are you ok?"

"He won't run the risk of killing me in public. I think I'm fine for now."

"He's not exactly the overprotective kind, anyway. If Luke didn't kill you, dad definitely won't."

"Hey, Luke likes me, ok? I don't care about your whole 'we're sharing him' thing, he's my uncle. He won't kill me."

"Did you ask him to be your best man?"

"This morning when you were still in bed."

"How'd it go?"

"Oh, it was glorious. We hugged and cried. You missed quite a show, really." Jess chuckled, making her shake her head and laugh.

"Ladies and gentlemen, this is who I'm marrying. Mister 'it would kill me to be serious for a second'." Sticking out her tongue, she chuckled, then leaned in and kissed his cheek.

"You like it." Jess pointed out.

"I'm not going to answer that. You have enough of an ego as it is."

Before he had a chance to answer, Chris walked to their table, smiling.

"Hey, guys."

"Hey, dad!" Rory jumped up from her chair, hugging the man quickly while Jess stood up as well, awkwardly watching the two.

"Hi." He looked at the man and Christopher smiled back, waving. Letting go of him, Rory sat back down, hiding her left hand under the table.

"So, what brings you to Boston?" Chris smiled, looking at his daughter.

"We have news. Really big news. Good, exciting news." Rory smiled, squeezing Jess hand but before she could say anything else a new wave of nausea hit her and she stood up quickly, mumbling "I'll be back." before hurrying to the bathroom. Looking from her to Jess, Chris trying to understand what was happening.

"She's fine." Jess reassured him, picking up his coffee cup.

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah."

"How sure?"

"Very sure. Don't worry about it."

After a couple of minutes of uncomfortable silence at the table, Rory came back, sitting down in her chair again and burying her face in Jess' shoulder while he put his arms around her, kissing her forehead.

"You ok?"

"I hate, hate, hate this." She grumbled, making him smile.

"Need some water?"

"No." She shook her head, biting her lip.

"Ok, can someone clue me in on what's happening here?" Chris chimed in, looking at them and she finally looked up, remembering that he was at the table.

"Sorry, dad." Rory smiled, taking Jess' hand again. "Yeah, so I probably should find a nice, cute way of putting this because it's massive and life changing for everyone and all that, but I'm tired and sick so just saying with have to do. I'm pregnant. And we're getting married. In 6 weeks. The two aren't in any way connected, it's just the only time that makes sense, considering everything. That's all." She finished her rant and hugged Jess again, making him chuckle.

"Wait, so you're having a baby?" Christopher asked and Jess nodded, his hand rubbing Rory's back slowly. "And getting married?"

Lifting her left hand and putting it on the table to show him the ring, Rory nodded.

"We have an invitation for you." She straightened up again, taking a deep breath and starting to dig through her purse. "Here." She handed him the envelope. "We haven't mailed them yet, but since this is really fast, we're hand delivering the ones that go to people outside of Stars Hollow. Not that there are that many people coming any way."

"Wow…" Chris leaned back in his chair, shaking his head. "I…don't know what to say."

"Congratulations would be a good start." She smiled, making him smile as well.

"Didn't I already…?"

"No." She shook her head.

"I'm sorry, I still haven't recovered, I think. Congratulations. On everything. I'm very happy for both of you. This is just…amazing news."

"We think so too." Rory smiled, squeezing Jess' hand.

"Can I give you a hug or are you still too sick for that?"

"I think I can brave it." She grinned, standing up and hugging her father. "You're coming, right? Even though it's short notice and close to New Year's Eve and everything?"

"Kid, I wouldn't miss your wedding for the world."

"Promise?"

"I swear." He reassured her, hugging her. "And if you need anything, money or something, just give me a call and I'll make sure you get it, ok?"

"Thanks." She smiled, finally letting go of him and sitting down in her chair again.

"When did this happen?" Christopher asked and she started telling him the story, smiling. As soon as she finished, she took a sip from her mug.

"Sorry we didn't tell you sooner, but we wanted to do it in person."

"No, it's fine. I'm just…still overwhelmed. I'm going to be a grandfather. Oh, wow." He laughed, not knowing what to say. "Suppose I have to go buy myself a walker or something."

"Get a cane. It will be easier to wave around at those annoying brats who won't stay off your lawn." Jess chuckled, his hand holding Rory's.

"Or a shotgun?" Christopher looked at the younger man.

"You can stand by the altar, holding it, looking threatening." Rory smiled again.

"I think I can do that. So how long are you in town for? Can I take you to dinner to celebrate?"

"We were actually going to drive back tonight after telling Paris, but if we can borrow your guest room for the night, we can stay the night." Rory offered, looking at Jess who nodded quickly.

"Yeah, sure. Gigi's away at school, so she won't bother you guys."

"How is she?"

"Growing. Pesky kids, you do that. Make a guy feel old."

"I apologize profusely."

"Oh, well, you'll see how it is. One day, you're looking at this tiny baby in a crib and next thing you know, you're sitting in a café, across from said baby and she's telling you she's going to have a baby of her own."

"It does not seem that way right now. I'm just doing it one day at a time." Kissing Jess' shoulder quickly, she smiled at her fiancé. "Couldn't do it without him."

"Yeah, when you're not hating me." He pointed out, rubbing her leg under the table. "Half the time I'm a miserable bastard that has to die." He laughed, making Chris chuckle as well.

"I remember that one. Sherry was very busy going from hating me to loving me again to being weepy to wanting to end the human race."

"Hey, as the pregnant one at the table, I'm telling you both to shut up!" Rory laughed. "You have no idea what it's like and don't get to complain."

"See? I'm only good for bringing the ice cream."

"Shut up." She snickered again, kissing his shoulder quickly. "You're only alive because I need someone to stand there when I wear my pretty white dress."

"You already have a dress?" Chris chimed in.

"Bought it yesterday. We had a very productive and crazy week. Got the invitations sorted on Monday and picked them up Thursday, rings on Wednesday, dress yesterday. Grandma helped with that one."

"So Emily's taking this well?"

"You could say that."

"Ok, so I need to go make a couple of phone calls, tell the maid she had to get your room ready and maybe make reservations for some place tonight. Anything you have in mind?" He directed his question at Rory.

"No Chinese or Indian or Thai. Or Italian now that I think of it, garlic is freaking awful. What does that leave us with?"

"French food?"

"Sure." She shrugged, not entirely convinced. "I'm sure I can find something to eat."

"I'll be right back. And if you change your mind let me know and I'll find some other place." Christopher smiled at his daughter before standing up, leaving the two alone.

"Are you ok with us staying here tonight? I can make something up if you don't want to."

"It's fine." Jess nodded, leaning in and kissing her cheek. "Are you feeling any better?"

"Not really. But I've gotten much better at pretending I am, haven't I?"

"No one can tell a thing." He smiled softly, pushing a strand of hair behind her ear as she leaned over, resting her head on his shoulder.

* * *

A while later, they were standing in Paris' living room, with the other young woman in an armchair, looking at them.

"Doyle's not home this weekend." She announced.

"Sorry, we should have given you more notice."

"Well, too late to do anything about that now. Why are you here?" Realizing she might have come off as too brash, she tried to smile. "I mean you're not the surprise visit kind or person. Impulsive is not your main trait."

"Well, we have really big news and something to ask."

"You're getting married."

"How did you…?" Rory asked confused but Paris pointed to her ring.

"I can see."

"Yeah, we are. And I want you to be my bridesmaid. We've known each other for years and I just…" Rory took a deep breath before continuing. "…It wouldn't be the same without you."

"I'm not wearing some awful dress."

"You can pick your own dress, as long as it's dark red. Oh, and it's in 6 weeks. I'm not sure if you can take the time off work but I would love it if you came. The weekend after Christmas to be more precise."

"Why so soon? Are you pregnant?" The other young woman asked again.

"Yeah." Rory exhaled loudly. "But that's not the reason we're…"

"Of course it's not, you've been dating for 5 years, everyone knew you were going to get married. But this way you can get married before you're fat and you don't have to wait for freaking ever."

"Yeah, that's pretty much it." Rory laughed at her friend's bluntness. "Can you do it?"

"Sure. I have the week off anyway and my mother's getting a new chin and my father's in Europe with his latest squeeze. And Doyle's family is annoying."

Taking the invitation out of her purse, Rory handed it to her. "Here you go. This is for you and Doyle."

Looking over the invitation quickly, Paris put it on the table. "At least the directions don't include the rooster this time."

"Monty's been taken down. We don't talk about it."

"You have anything to do with that?" Paris looked at Jess and he shook his head.

"Nope."

"Some guys got drunk and…poor Monty." Rory sighed, squeezing Jess' hand.

"You're not going to start crying, are you?" She pulled back, slightly scared of the prospect.

"No, I'm fine. Almost fine, anyway."

"Do you have a good doctor or do you want me to ask around the hospital and see if someone can recommend someone else?"

"I have someone, thanks."

"Give me his or her name, I want to check this person out."

"Paris, thank you, but that really isn't necessary. She's highly…"

"Name." Paris snapped again, making Rory roll her eyes.

"Laura Jones."

"I'll call you and tell you what I found out."

"Thanks. We should get back, dad's waiting for us. Thank you so much for doing this, it means…"

"Oh, spare me." Paris sighed, standing up. Walking to her, Rory hugged her friend quickly.

"Thank you."

"I'll see you at the wedding." Glaring at Jess who was standing behind Rory, she snapped. "I'll kill you if you hurt her, got it?"

"I know." He chuckled uncomfortably, wrapping his arm around Rory's waist again.

"Say 'hi' to Doyle for us, ok?"

"I will." Paris smiled, leading them to the front door. "Congratulations, by the way."

"Thanks." Waving again, they walked outside as she closed the door behind them.

"God, she's…unique."

"She was so much mellower in college. Apparently working as a doctor is bringing high school Paris back. Maybe she needs her life coach back."

"Her what?"

"Didn't I tell you about Terrence?"

"You omitted that part."

"This is a good one." Rory laughed, starting to reminisce about her first year at Yale.

* * *

Much later that night, they were lying in bed, in Chris' guest room, her head resting on his chest, trying to fall asleep.

"Jess?"

"Hm?" He mumbled, kissing the top of her head.

"I need you to promise me something."

"That I'm never going to let you try to eat that much by yourself?"

"No." She snickered, moving to the other pillow, her arm still wrapped around him. "This is a serious promise."

"Anything." He leaned over, kissing her.

"Promise me that no matter what happens between us, no matter how we end up, what we do, even if we manage to go from this amazing thing we have to completely hating each other's guts, promise me that you're going to be in this kid's life. That you'll never say you'll call and then forget to do it, say you'll visit and never show up, that you're never going to break his or her heart like he used to do to me when I was growing up."

"Ror…" Jess sighed, his hand cupping her face as his fingers played in her hair slowly.

"Promise me. And this kid." She put her hand on her stomach, running her fingers over it. "Tell both of us that he or she will never have to know this life."

"I promise." He kissed her until they were both out of breath. "Just you though. I already have a deal with the kid." He ducked down, smiling as he lifted the bottom of her shirt and kissed the spot below her navel quickly.

"What deal?" Rory smiled, her hand running through his hair.

"It knows." He kissed her stomach again before moving back up. "What, I'm not allowed to have secrets with our child?"

"Maybe. I'm just not sure how I feel about you already conspiring with him." She laughed, her serious mood gone. "I have no hope left, I'm going to have to constantly ground both of you. Well, ground him and make sure you don't get to have any fun with me." She kissed him, smiling through the kiss.

"What if I have nothing to do with it, but was just too busy to stop it?"

"Oh, please, I have a feeling that if I ever come home to see all our walls covered in crayon, you'll be just as guilty."

"I'm more of a pillow fort, fight with a toy army type of guy." He chuckled, putting his hand on her waist and pulling her closer to him. "But, for what it's worth, I wouldn't do that and you know it. Or should know it, anyway." He turned serious again and Rory nodded, biting her lip.

"I know it. But everything came back to me today and I really do not want this for our child. It's just…dad missed so much of my childhood and I can't stand the thought of you missing the same of this baby's life and of him spending so much time wondering what the hell was wrong with him that his dad didn't love him."

Pulling her to him, Jess hugged her as close to him as he could, kissing the top of her head. "There's nothing wrong with you. There never was. He's just a fucking idiot that couldn't think of anyone but himself."

"Jess…"

"No. I'll be nice to him because I have to and because it's easier on all of us but that does not mean that I like him or don't completely despise him for what he did. This is the one completely non-negotiable thing here."

"I love you." She smiled, burying her face in his chest and he kissed her head again. "But you have to give him a chance."

"Do you want to hear the definition of non-negotiable now or later?" Jess smirked, his arms wrapped tightly around her.

"I already know it."

"Then? I'm giving him a chance. I'm not punching the fucking lights out of him every time I see him. That's all you'll get out of me when it comes to that bastard."

Shaking her head, she kissed him softly, trying to calm him down. "I don't want our baby to know about any of this until it's old enough to understand it. Until then, dad can just be the nice granddad he sees once in a while."

"Fine." He nodded, knowing it was her decision. Pulling back, Rory kissed him then took a deep breath, trying to find the right words.

"What about Jimmy? What will tell the baby about him? Actually, are you ever going to tell Jimmy about this? He should know. I think. I know you two don't have much of a relationship, but he's going to be a grandfather as well. I think he might like to know."

"I highly doubt the once in a blue moon phone calls constitute anything even resembling a relationship. I'll mention it next time he calls, ok?"

"You can call him too, you know?"

"What's with you lately? Why are you trying to fix everything?" Jess looked at her, his fingers tracing her lip.

"I think it's the pregnancy thing. I need to make a world as perfect as I can for this baby. I can't make all the bad things go away, but I'm trying. And you have to ignore me when I butt in somewhere I shouldn't."

"It's fine. Just…you can't fix me and Jimmy. It's too late and too much shit has happened for that one to ever work."

"I know." Rory nodded, kissing him. "You deal with Jimmy any way you want. I just think he should know."

"I'll tell him when we talk."

"Thank you." She smiled, kissing him again.

"It won't change anything."

"Probably not. But we should at least give it a try."

Lying on his back, Jess waited for her to curl up next to him then wrapped his arm around her, rubbing her arm.

"I love you. Because you try to fix everything."

"I thought it was going to be despite that." Rory smiled, kissing his chest.

"No, it's because. In high school it was despite." He kissed the top of her head, pulling her even closer to him. "Get some sleep, it's getting late."

Nodding and kissing him one more time, she moved back to her pillow and closed her eyes, smiling. "I love you too."


	21. Story time, movie time

**A/N: I think this is now my favourite chapter. I hope you guys like it as much as I loved writing it. Also, I probably should have done this before but here goes. Disclaimer: I've never been pregnant and research can only take me so far. I'm sorry if I get something wrong. Thank you for the reviews. **

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**Story time, movie time**

Monday afternoon, Jess walked into their apartment, finding her sitting cross-legged on the couch, a book in her hands, reading out loud. Leaning in the doorway that separated the small hallway from the room, he smirked, crossing his arms against his chest.

"What are you doing?"

"Baby's starting to grow ears this week. I'm reading to it." She announced, grinning and he shook his head.

"Seriously?"

"I know she can't hear it, but let me be crazy pregnant lady. I've already missed celebrating her growing an appendix. I need to catch up."

"Oh, we didn't celebrate our kid growing a completely useless organ? We're awful parents, really." He finally chuckled, walking to her and sitting down on the couch.

"Do not be mean to baby."

"Embryo." Jess corrected her and she smiled, tilting her head to the side.

"Future baby?"

"I'll give you that one." He leaned over, kissing her, taking the book away from her in the same move, then looked at its title. "Rand? You're already corrupting our kid with this?"

"Hey, someone has to be on my side."

Putting his hand on her stomach and caressing her skin softly with his thumb, he smirked. "No longer earless embryo, I'm sorry this had to be your first introduction to literature. I can assure you that it's not all this boring." Looking back up at Rory, he smirked, kissing her again. "Now it will never want to read a book of fear that it's all this dragged on and rambling."

"Are you trying to get kicked to the couch tonight or is it just your charm working again?"

"You can't sleep without me."

"True." She nodded, kissing him. "Today was better. I only threw up twice."

"Well, good job?" Jess asked, letting out a small chuckle. "I don't know what to say to that one."

"Good job works, I think. I don't know, just thought I'd let you know. I'm not getting too excited, though, I'm sure it was just a fluke."

"Don't jinx it, maybe it wasn't." He ran his hand over her hair, smoothing it down and smiling.

"Mom wants to know if Matt is sure he doesn't want to bring Jane to Thanksgiving." She changed the subject after kissing him again.

"You honestly think that poor girl has to meet the crazy town at once? She hasn't even met you yet, or me in a non-Truncheon capacity. Let him have his fun before she runs away screaming. I think he said she's going away, in any case."

"She asked me, I'm just relaying the message."

"Are you sure you're up for this? We can always skip it." Jess tried not to sound too excited at the prospect of missing a family get-together, but she shook her head.

"I'll be ok. But I appreciate your completely selfish concern."

"Hey, we had to stop a million times yesterday so you could throw up. It's like living with someone with a constant hangover." He smirked, kissing her cheek.

"Yes, because living with a constant hangover is so much better. Really, Jess, I'm loving it. It's like McDonald's, only without the Happy Meals and the kiddie slide. No wait, the freaking kiddie gets to slide out of me. And I am using the word slide freely."

"I'm sorry." Jess sighed, suddenly serious and pulled her into a hug, kissing the top of her head. "I was trying to make you laugh, not make you feel worse."

"I know." She mumbled, not looking up. "I'm just crabby again for no freaking reason. Pregnancy is fun."

Kissing the top of her head again, he pulled back, smiling. "I have nothing that will make you feel better."

"Bring up tomorrow, that will help." Rory grinned back at him then placed a quick kiss on his lips.

"You get to see our ear-growing, already owner of an appendix embryo tomorrow." He chuckled again and she shook her head, snickering.

"And toes! It's getting toes this week!"

"Well, how adorable. Toes." He tried not to laugh. Picking up her book again, Jess handed it to her before standing up and kissing the top of her head. "Go back to ruining our child, I'll go make dinner."

"Today's list is on the fridge."

"Convenient. How nice of you."

"Figured you need some guidance if you don't want me to see said dinner again under less than pleasant circumstances. And please close the door this time."

"Oh, yeah. Learned that one yesterday."

"Who knew boiling water had a smell?" She grinned before opening the book to the page she was on and starting to out loud read again as he headed to the kitchen.

* * *

Later that night, they were both lying in bed, her back turned to him as he read. Jess put his book down, his hand rubbing her back gently.

"What's wrong? Why aren't you sleeping?"

"Not tired, I guess."

"You expect me to buy that? Lately you're out by 10 on a school night."

"It's stupid." She admitted, turning around to look at him.

"But it's still keeping you awake."

"I'm scared." She bit her lip and he slid further down the bed to see her better.

"Of?"

"God, I don't even know where to start."

"I don't care."

"I'm scared the doctor will find something wrong with the baby tomorrow."

"That's not stupid." Jess shook his head slowly, his hand taking hers. "But we can't control it. This is a cross fingers and hope for the best thing and you know it."

"That doesn't mean I'm any less scared. I don't know what I'd do."

"We'd get over it. Together."

"Promise? You'll still love me even if something is wrong with the baby?"

"Ror, those two are so unconnected…what, you think I've been with you all this time because I knew someday you were going to get pregnant?"

"No, but if something is wrong, it will be because of me."

"No, it wouldn't be." Leaning in, he crushed his mouth to hers, trying to make her feel better. "You've been crazy obsessive about this. If something is wrong, then that's how it is. You have nothing to do with it. And God, I would still love you. Trust me."

"Thank you." She smiled back at him, her fingers running through his hair.

"Nope. Not for this one. Anything else keeping you awake?"

Biting her lip, Rory looked away from him, not knowing how to say what she wanted to say.

"Go on, it can't be that bad."

"I'm just...if I tell you this, you have to promise first that you won't take it the wrong way or think any less of me. Or hate me. "

"What's so bad that requires a million promises from me? Have you been sleeping around?" He smirked, his thumb tracing her bottom lip, hoping to make her smile.

"No. This is different."

"What is it?"

"I'm scared I won't love this baby like I'm supposed to. Don't get me wrong, I'm happy about it, but I want to love it and I don't think I do yet and I am so scared that will never happen and I'll end up being this awful mother and ruin his or her life."

"Come here." He motioned for her to move closer and she cuddled up to him, her head resting on his chest while he wrapped both his arms around her, holding her as close to him as he could. Placing a small kiss on the top of her head, he rubbed her arm, sighing. "You're insane."

"I'm not. I don't know how this works and when it should start and I'm afraid to ask mom or Lane because what if they loved their kids from the first moment they found out about them and I'm just horrible and will never really love my own child?"

"Story time." Jess announced after a few seconds of silence and she looked up, confused.

"What?"

"I'm going to tell you a story. If it doesn't make you feel better, maybe it will make you sleep. Win, win really."

"Jess, I'm serious."

"So am I." He smiled, placing a quick kiss on her lips before she moved back. Pulling the blanket up to cover her, he took a deep breath. "Once upon a time, and I'm only starting with that because that's how every story starts but this once upon a time is more like a few months ago, this random guy lived in his random apartment in his random city with his princess."

"Why does she get to be a princess and he has to be a random guy? I don't like that."

"Quiet, this is my story. I get to make the rules. Anyway, one day, our random guy walks into his random apartment only to find the princess packing her bag even though it was going to be their weekend, when he was going to do nothing but lounge in bed, preferably with said princess. Slightly annoyed, he walked to her, trying to figure out what was going on and she smiled the biggest, goofiest, happiest smile he'd ever seen and announced that her baby brother had smiled for the first time and she was going to be damned if she was going to miss that so she was going to her mother's house for the weekend and random guy had a choice if he wanted to come or not, but her baby brother had smiled, did she mention that enough times and she had to see that. Now you really think that this absolutely incredible princess who can love her brother so much that she can't wait a week to see that really won't love her own baby? Because, if you do, you are absolutely crazy. And I have about a million more stories about how amazing and kind she actually is and what an absolutely incredible capacity to love she has to prove your madness."

When she didn't say anything for a few minutes, he rubbed her arm again, kissing her head.

"I didn't think you'd actually fall asleep."

"I didn't." She shook her head slowly, her voice quivering and he moved away looking at her only to find tears rolling down her cheeks.

"Ok, see, crying was also not what I was hoping for."

Suddenly, she shot from her place, kissing him until they were both out of breath. Pulling back, she cupped his face in her hand, placing quick kisses on his lips, making him smirk.

"That's more what I wanted."

"I love you so much, Jess." She whispered against his mouth, trying to stop crying. "And you are…God, I don't even have the words. But I am the luckiest person the world to have you, I hope you know I know that."

"You see, I think you should try harder. Tell me what makes me so amazing." He smirked, wiping her cheeks. "Or at least stop crying."

"I'm saving my 'why you're the most amazing man in the world' list for my vows." Rory smiled, kissing him again. "I love you."

"Yeah, you keep saying. I know I'm slow sometimes, but I got the point."

"You can't say stuff like that to your pregnant fiancée and then expect her not to cry and tell you over and over again how much she loves you. Your story would have me all blubbery on a normal day. Add hormones to this? I don't think I'll ever stop crying." She laughed, crushing her mouth to his and he cupped her face in his hand, wiping her cheek with his thumb.

"Not even if I ask you nicely?" He whispered when she pulled back, smirking again. "I hate seeing you cry."

"I'll try." Wiping her cheeks again, she took a deep breath, looking at him, smiling. "You are incredible."

"Thank you for noticing." Jess chuckled, lying on his back again and she moved to her previous position, the grin never leaving her lips. "Feeling less insane now?"

"I am just…massively in love with you right now." She nodded, kissing his chest. "And happy."

"Then go to sleep. You can show your appreciation in the morning. Start my fan club."

"I just might." Lifting her head again, she kissed him. "Thank you. For always making everything better."

"Sleep. Or you'll be too freaking tired tomorrow to enjoy seeing this baby for the first time." Smiling, he kissed her again before she moved back to her previous position.

"I love you." She whispered again, trying to move away from him but he stopped her.

"Good night, Ror." Kissing the top of her head, he picked up his book with one hand, the other one still holding her to him.

* * *

The next day, Jess walked into the waiting room of the doctor's office, sitting down in the chair next to Rory's. Leaning over and kissing her, he smiled.

"Matt said thank you for the offer to have Jane over, but she's going home to see her parents. He'll see you Thursday morning and wants to see pictures from today."

"Oh, yeah, can't wait to share photos on my uterus with the entire world."

"You should have just made a sex tape. Far more fun than this."

"You're disgusting." She made a face. "Watch what you're saying before I throw up on your shoes."

"Bad again?"

"Told you yesterday was a fluke."

"Sorry." He wrapped his arm around her, kissing her shoulder. "How much do you hate me right now?"

"What scale am I using here?"

"Your usual 'I got you pregnant, I must die' scale." He smirked again and Rory smiled, kissing him.

"I don't hate you. I still love you."

"Good to know. Slave boy gets some love."

"After last night, you get anything you want." Before Jess could answer, the young woman sitting behind the reception desk motioned to the door.

"Laura can see you now."

"Thanks." Standing up, Rory walked to the door, with Jess following closely behind.

"Hey, it's nice to see you guys again." Laura smiled, standing up and Rory smiled back at her.

"You too."

"Hello." Jess greeted, slightly uncomfortable.

"How's it going?"

"Morning sickness. Fun."

"I'm sorry." Rubbing her arm sympathetically, Laura looked at Jess. "Are you nice to her?"

"He is." Rory confirmed before he had a chance to reply. "He's amazing."

"Well, that's good. Ok, before we can get to the fun part of seeing this baby, there are talks to be had, questions to be asked and stuff to be done. So would you mind waiting outside, Jess? I'll have Debra call you when it's time for the movies."

"Sure." He nodded, his hand brushing Rory's back quickly before he walked out of the room again, leaving them alone. Almost half an hour later, the woman motioned for the door again and he knocked, walking in after Laura's voice confirmed it was ok for him to do so. Pointing to a chair next to the table Rory was laying on, she smiled.

"Excited?" She looked at the two of them and Rory nodded as her hand went on to hold Jess', squeezing it tightly.

"This is the only thing she's been talking about for the past 24 hours."

"Hey, it's normal to be excited. Laura, tell him it's normal."

"No need, I know my lesson. Be nice and agree to everything you say." Jess smirked, making Laura laugh.

"You're good. Give my husband lessons just in case we decide to have another one, will you?"

"I'm offering classes Monday through Friday nights for a modest fee of 500 dollars an hour. Someone's got to support this kid. I hear they're expensive."

Looking at him, Rory smiled and he squeezed her hand again as Laura turned on the screen to the ultrasound machine, flicking the plastic wand over Rory's abdomen, trying to find what she was looking for.

"Give me a minute here, guys, this baby's hiding from us."

"There is actually a baby, right? There's no chance this was just a massive false alarm?"

"Rory, what did I tell you last time?" Laura asked, her eyes not leaving the screen. "There's a baby, the only problem is that it's less than an inch right now. Not exactly easy…" She paused, a smile appearing on her face. "Right on cue here, kid. Rory, Jess, meet your baby." She pointed to a gray shape on the screen, smiling. "Everything looks fine." Looking back at Rory, who was biting her lip, trying very hard not to cry, she smiled again. "How do you feel?"

"I'm just…that's our baby." She squeezed Jess' hand even harder as a couple of happy tears ran down her face and Jess looked at her, kissing her temple quickly as he wiped her cheek with his other hand.

"You ok?" He whispered and she nodded, her teeth going back to chewing on her lip.

"I never thought something so small and fuzzy could be so beautiful." She smiled, making him smile as well.

"Kind of looks like alien pods to me." He smirked after a few seconds, making the two women laugh.

"Not the first time I've heard that one." Laura nodded, trying not to burst out laughing again.

"Damn it, I was aiming for originality points here." He chuckled, looking back at his fiancée. "Ror, what's wrong?"

"Nothing. Absolutely nothing is wrong, trust me." She shook her head, a huge grin spreading on her face. "But I am telling the kid about that one after it's born, just so you know."

"I need to move this away for a second, just to make sure there's only one baby around, ok? Don't worry, we're going back and getting you pictures." Laura motioned to the screen.

"Yeah." Rory nodded, her smile fading slightly when the image changed. Kissing her temple again when Laura wasn't looking, Jess smiled. Moving the plastic wand back to the baby, Laura nodded.

"Just one it and all looks fine. Let me just grab a few images for you to keep." A few minutes later, after pressing a few buttons, she nodded, smiling. "Done."

"Aw, damn it." Rory snickered as soon as the screen went black.

"Sorry." Laura smiled, starting to put stuff away. "Go get changed and I'll get the pictures ready to go."

"I'll be outside, ok?" Jess smiled, kissing Rory's temple again and she nodded. A few minutes later, she walked out of the office, holding an envelope in her hand. After talking to the receptionist, she walked to Jess, wrapping her arm around him as she rested her head on his shoulder.

"You happy?" He kissed the top of her head, wrapping his arm around her as well as they headed for the door.

"Yeah." She nodded, looking up at him and kissing him as they walked outside, the smile back on her lips.

"Good. Go on, I'll drive you back to work so you can spend the next ten minutes staring at those pictures."

Pulling the pictures out and grinning, she looked at him. "What do you think?"

"I don't know, it looks more like the mailman than me." He chuckled, looking at the vaguely human shape.

"That's because it's not yours, silly." Rory shook her head, laughing as they reached the car and he backed her up against the door, his arms on either side of her, not letting her move and kissed her.

"So you have been sleeping around."

"Didn't I tell you? Must have slipped my mind."

"Lucky I like you enough to stick around."

"Very lucky." Rory smiled again, kissing him, then lifted one of the pictures again. "Our baby."

"It's cute." He admitted, smiling softly.

"It's perfect."

"It's official, there's no turning back now." Cupping her face in his hand, he kissed her, pulling her close to him. "I love you."

"I love you too." She whispered back, kissing him again.

"Get in the car before you're late for work." He smirked, kissing her one more time and she nodded, opening the car door. After a few minutes of driving in silence, Jess turned around and looked at her, smiling when he saw she was still looking at the pictures.

"Everything alright?"

"Yeah." Rory nodded, looking at him. "Last night…I was crazy."

"Of course you were if you think I'll be ok with you reading Rand to the kid after it actually starts being able to hear you."

"That's not…"

"I know." He cut her off, running his hand over her leg, not taking his eyes off the road.

"Thank you."

"Anytime."


	22. Families and freaks

**A/N: It's exam week, folks, be nice to me. Thank you for reading and the reviews, keep 'em coming. **

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**Families and freaks**

Thursday around noon, Rory and Jess walked into the kitchen of Lorelai and Luke's house, finding Lorelai there, flicking through a magazine. Seeing them, she stood up, excited.

"Pictures! Pictures, pictures, pictures!"

"We're fine too, Lorelai, thanks for asking." Jess smirked as Rory sat down, grumbling.

"Make it go away, mommy."

"Honey, I think it's a bit mean to refer to your fiancé as it when he's in the room." Lorelai smiled, rubbing her daughter's arm. "How bad?"

"Bad." She grimaced as Jess sat down on the chair next to hers, his hand rubbing her lower back gently.

"Want to go lie down, Ror?"

"I'm fine. Can I get some water, please?"

Nodding, Jess stood up and filled a glass, then put it next to her, sitting down again. After taking a drink from the glass, Rory started digging through her purse and pulled out the now worn out envelope, smiling as she opened it and saw the pictures again. "Here's your grandchild." Her smile grew even bigger as she handed the pictures to her mother, holding Jess' hand. "Isn't it pretty?"

"Aw, kid…" Standing up, she walked to Rory, waiting for her to stand up before hugging her tightly. "It's beautiful."

"It's barely a shape!" Jess sighed, frustrated, making Rory glare at him.

"That's our baby. Be nice to her or I swear I'll go full on crazy on you."

"It's gorgeous. Really. There has never been a more beautiful gray blob in the history of gray blobs." He chuckled, making them laugh as well. Sitting down, Rory slapped his back, still smiling.

"Why am I marrying him again?" She looked at her mother but Jess smirked before she could reply, kissing her shoulder quickly.

"Because I got you pregnant, wasn't that the idea?"

"Oh, the town's gone mad with gossip!" Lorelai announced, still looking at the pictures. "You're either dying and that's your last wish-they're all a bit fuzzy on which one of you is actually dying, but most of them seem to think it's Rory-I don't know, maybe it's more dramatic that way or you're pregnant or Jess has decided to join the French Foreign Legion. Or all of the above."

"Let me guess…Patty came up with the Foreign Legion thing?"

"Of course." Lorelai nodded, grinning.

"Your town is crazy." Jess smirked.

"Jess, you are so one of us." Lorelai laughed. "You're marrying her, your kid is going to be this town's new bright hope…you're one of us. The sooner you face it, the sooner you get your official Stars Hollow name."

"When do I get my official Stars Hollow straight jacket?"

"You're very lucky I want my grandchild to get to know his dad." Lorelai pointed her finger at him, making him shake his head. "Where's the one you should be marrying instead?" She looked at Rory again, grinning.

"Matt? Trying to find a porcelain unicorn for Jane. He's coming over as soon as that's done."

Before anyone could say anything else, Sookie barged in the kitchen.

"I need to borrow Luke's tongs!"

"Well, this certainly calls for a dirty!" Lorelai laughed. "As far as I know, he doesn't have a pair, but maybe he wears mine. At night. When I'm sleeping. I need to stop thinking about this."

"I don't have time, Lorelai, do not make jokes."

"Sookie, calm down. What happened?"

Opening drawers and looking through them, Sookie started rambling. "The kids were playing with one set and of course the other one had to break and I have no idea where Jackson put the third one, I swear, why does that man think he can do whatever he wants in my kitchen I'll never know and I am trying to make Thanksgiving dinner and I better find those things soon!"

"Sink."

"What?"

"They're next to the sink." Jess pointed out and Sookie smiled victoriously, grabbing the utensil.

"Thank you! At least someone is useful here."

"Hey!" Lorelai tried to protest but quickly changed her mind. "Ok, you may have a point. We have ultrasound pictures!"

"What?"

"Come meet my grandkid!"

Forgetting about her rush, Sookie sat down, anxious. "Show me!"

"Here you go!" Lorelai handed her the pictures while Rory watched them, the giant smile back on her face.

"Cupcake, it's beautiful."

"Don't say anything!" Lorelai pointed her finger at Jess and he just lifted his hands in the air, leaning back in his chair.

"Thank you." Rory smiled at Sookie.

"Looks like a boy to me, doesn't it, Lorelai?"

Biting his lip, Jess smirked again.

"Definitely a boy." Sookie nodded, convinced.

"Leather jacket buying, here I come!" Lorelai grinned, making Rory smile.

"Well, I'm crossing my fingers for a boy. One that looks like this jerk." She kissed Jess' shoulder quickly.

"Jess, what do you want it to be?"

"Oh, no, I'm not playing this." He shook his head, standing up and picking a mug, filling it with coffee then leaned against the counter. "I don't care."

"You have to care." Lorelai tilted her head, trying to look serious.

"Nope. I am not going to say anything. If I say the one that it's not, 6 months from now she'll go on a crazy crying session because I wanted the other one and I'm not happy and do I hate her and the child even though I couldn't care less what it is. So, no, I'm not saying anything."

"He says that like I'm some kind of lunatic that starts crying every other second."

"I am so not answering that." Jess shook his head, making Rory snicker.

"You have to know you're going to pay for this."

"I'm well aware." He smirked, kissing the top of her head before sitting back down. "Sookie, your dinner?" He reminded the woman and she stood back up, frantically picking up the tongs.

"I'll see you later!" She announced before leaving the house through the back door.

"You're all crazy." Jess shook his head again, trying not to laugh.

"How did we get out of Thanksgiving dinner with the grandparents?" Rory looked at her mother, ignoring Jess' comment.

"You're not feeling well, I have a small kid. They are coming over today, joy."

"Grandma and grandpa are coming here?"

"Oh, yeah. Wouldn't want them to miss Will's first Thanksgiving, would you? What kind of a person would deny a grandmother the chance to spend time with her grandson on such an important holiday? Especially since she's getting old..." Lorelai grimaced, remembering the conversation she had had with her mother.

"So you got guilt tripped?"

"Big time."

"Where is Will, by the way?"

"Nap time. Blessing, let me tell you."

"Lorelai? Lorelai, where are you?" Matt's voice boomed from the front door.

"Kitchen!"

Walking in the room, Matt sat down, a huge grin on his face. "Porcelain unicorn acquired."

"Oh, let me see!" Lorelai extended her hands and he pulled the small unicorn out of his bag, placing it victoriously on the table.

"Jane will think you're insane." Jess shook his head.

"Shush, you heathen. You left this town, you get to make no comments."

"See? So much better." Lorelai grinned, ruffling the Matt's hair. "Why did you not bring this girl? I need to see if she's good enough for you."

"She went away. I might drag her over for Christmas, if I'm invited."

"Did I not make it clear enough that you're always invited? I've already saved your room at the inn for Christmas. And Chris' room, in case he decides to not ditch us for his family again, the ingrate. Not that we're doing anything big this year, seeing how we're all going to be busy with their wedding."

"Shotgun wedding." Matt grinned, walking to the coffee machine and pouring himself a cup. "I enjoy pointing that out, it makes Jess' head almost explode."

"I am so proud of you sometimes. Did you see my grandchild yet?" Lorelai looked at him, waving the ultrasound pictures in the air while Rory and Jess watched them.

"In the car. This jerk didn't bring the pictures over to work."

"Like I could pry them out of her hands." Jess smirked, rubbing Rory's back gently.

"Excuse me for wanting to look at our child. What a terrible thing." Rory grinned, kissing his shoulder quickly.

"It's a gray…"

"Shut up." Rory shook her head, trying not to laugh. "Mom, I'm going to go look at my wedding dress for a while. I missed it."

"Oh, can I see, can I see?" Matt chimed in, excited.

"Only if you promise you won't tell him anything about it."

"Cross my heart." He nodded solemnly and Rory stood up, jerking her head in the direction of the living room.

"Let's go."

"Oh, I'm coming!" Lorelai stood up as well. "Jess, hold down the fort."

"All by myself? I don't think I can." He smirked and Rory leaned over, kissing his cheek.

"I can stay with you and go upstairs later."

"Go, look at it, gush, cry with joy, whatever. I'm very good at entertaining myself." He reassured her, putting his hand over hers and giving it a gentle squeeze. "I was kidding."

"You sure?"

"Go." He nodded, smiling and she kissed his cheek again before heading to the other room, trying to catch up with Lorelai and Matt.

* * *

A few hours later, everyone was gathered in the living room, with the furniture pushed to the side, leaving room for just one big table in the middle of the room and a smaller one for the kids to the side. Holding a bowl, Jess looked at Rory, a desperate look in his eyes.

"Help." He pointed down with his head and she smiled, seeing Doula hugging him, not letting go while he tried to walk to the table.

"Hey, Doula!" She smiled, walking to the little girl. "When did you get here?"

"Now. Mom and dad are outside!"

"Well, Kwan is over there with the other kids. Why don't you go say hello?" She pointed to the kids' table, knowing of the little girl's crush on him.

"But…" Hiding her face in Jess' leg, she blushed and Rory offered her hand.

"I'll come with you."

"Thank you!" She let go of Jess and hugged Rory instead, making her smile and ruffle her hair. Smiling gratefully, Jess put the bowl on the table, giving Rory a quick peck on the lips.

"Thank you." He whispered, picking up his beer bottle again.

"Come on, Rory!" Doula grabbed her hand, dragging her towards the table.

"Duty calls."

Walking in the room, Liz spotted her son and walked to him, hugging him. "Hey."

"Hi." He mumbled, hugging her back quickly.

"I hear you have pictures of my grandkid."

"Rory has them." Looking around the room, he saw his fiancée at the kids table, trying to get Doula to stop hiding behind her. "I think it might take a while."

"Kwan?"

"Yeah." Jess nodded, smirking. "If she ever actually talked to him…"

"You don't understand girls, Jess." Lorelai pointed out, walking up to them. "You don't talk to the boy you like, it's against the rules, right, Liz?"

"Right." Liz nodded as TJ joined them. "Hey, Lorelai. Where do I drop this?"

"I'll take it." Jess picked up the plate from the man's hands, grateful for the excuse to leave the room. A few minutes later, Rory walked in the kitchen, finding him leaning against a counter. Wrapping her arms around his waist, she kissed him quickly, smiling.

"Sorry to interrupt your cloistering, but grandma and grandpa are here."

"Can I come hide again after I say hello?" He smirked, cupping her face in his hand and kissing her.

"Don't think so. Dinner should get started any minute, everyone is here."

"At least when Chris is here, I have someone to mock the madness with. Matt fits right in."

"Sorry." She smiled, resting her head on his shoulder. "Drink. That should work."

"I feel bad drinking when you can't." Jess admitted, kissing her temple.

"Don't worry about me. I'm good." Smiling, she lifted her head again. "You realize next year our kid will be here?"

"It will just add to the madness." He smirked, placing his hand on her stomach, caressing it softly with his thumb.

"Is it really that bad? I can make something up while you go to Luke's old apartment or something. You don't have to be here."

"Ror, I've known all along what I was signing up for. I'm ok, I promise." He smiled softly, placing a quick kiss on her lips. "Wouldn't want to miss the last Thanksgiving when it's just the two of us. And when we're still not married."

"Hey, we'll be married before the New Year comes." She realized, her smile growing bigger.

"I know. Go on, Liz wants to see the pictures."

"Promise you won't mock them again." She pointed her finger at him, placing a quick kiss on his lips.

"How about if you let me mock because you know I am actually happy about this and I'm only doing it to annoy you?"

"Are you still happy?" She looked down, avoiding his eyes.

"About having a kid with you?" Crouching down, he smiled, looking up at her. "I hate that it's making you sick and if I could fix that, I would in a heartbeat, but other than that…yeah, I am happy. Unnaturally, abnormally happy." He crushed his mouth to hers while she hugged him closer to her, smiling through their kiss.

"If that changes…?"

"As long as you and the kid are ok and with me, that won't change."

"I love you." Rory managed to whisper, biting her lip, tears shining in her eyes.

"Love you too."

"Guys, you do realize that everyone is in the other room, right?" Lorelai smiled, walking in the room and Rory turned around, wiping her cheeks quickly.

"Sorry. We're coming."

"Something wrong?"

"Nothing. Crazy hormones." She shook her head, taking Jess' hand before walking to the living room. Sitting down next to Liz, Rory pulled out the envelope as Jess grabbed another beer before sitting down as well.

"Want to see the ultrasound pictures now or later, when there are less people around?" She smiled at Liz and she nodded excitedly, a massive smile on her face.

"Now! That's my grandkid, I don't want to wait."

Before Jess could say anything, his phone started ringing. Kissing Rory's temple quickly, he stood up, pointing to the door. "I'll be outside, it's too loud in here. Fawn all you want over the alien."

Making a face, Rory looked up, giving his hand a gentle squeeze. "We can wait for you."

"I highly doubt you'll be done by the time I'm back." He ran his hand down her hair before heading outside. Opening the envelope, she started showing Liz the pictures, smiling as she flicked through them. After a few minutes, Rory walked outside, pulling her coat tighter around her body.

"What happened?"

"That was Jimmy."

"Oh, wow…" She wrapped her arms around him, placing a quick kiss on his lips. "How did it go?"

"Told him about the kid and the wedding. He asked if he can come."

"And?"

"And I said I'd have to talk to you about it because I didn't know if we have enough room and call him back in a few days." He grimaced at his lame excuse, sighing. "Should have just said no."

"You don't have to. I mean…he's your father. If you want him there, we can find some way to deal with everything."

"I don't know if I want him there."

"Then call him back and tell him there isn't enough room. Or something."

"I don't know…" He sighed, kissing her quickly. "Can I think about it?"

"Sure."

"I mean…Luke probably still wants to kill him and I doubt Liz would take him being there well and…"

"And ignore all that and think about what you want. I'll make everyone behave if you want him to be there."

"I'm not sure what I want."

"Think about it." She shrugged again, kissing him. "Inside though, it's freezing out here. You'll get sick."

"Practicing your mothering skills?" He smirked, wrapping his arm around her waist as they headed for the door.

"Hey, I'm going to be a mother in 31 weeks, if nothing goes wrong. I need to practice." Rory smiled, kissing his cheek.

"You're going to be a great mother." He reassured her, kissing her before they walked inside the house.

"Hey, they're finally back!" Lorelai announced when she saw them, taking Will back from her Lane.

"We were right outside." She pointed out as they took their seats again.

"Yeah, well, now everyone is here and we can cut the turkey. Delays mean that I have to starve to death." She sighed dramatically as Luke walked into the room, holding a tray in his hands before placing it on the table.

"Ok, everyone sit down, gather round, be quiet…" Lorelai looked over at the kids' table and they all stopped talking. "…and let the eating begin!"

"Shouldn't we give thanks first?" Liz chimed in from her seat and Lorelai sighed.

"We're all grateful for family…" She kissed her son's cheek, smiling. "…For friends and all the amazing things that have happened this year. Including no one killing anyone else tonight. Yet, anyway. Oh, and for Rory and Jess finally deciding that they've kept us waiting long enough and getting engaged, making this an even weirder and crazier family unit. Now can we eat?"

"Very moving speech, Lorelai." Emily rolled her eyes.

"It's the same thing every year, only with some fighting. We take ten minutes, realize we can't find anything better, then carve the thing. I'm hungry so if anyone has anything to add, please do so. Fast."

"Football?" TJ asked, making everyone laugh.

"We're all thankful for football as well then. Done now?"

"Yes." Everyone nodded as Luke started carving the turkey, after placing a quick kiss on his wife's cheek. After a few minutes, Rory made a face, leaning over to Jess quickly.

"I need to…"

Before he could say anything, she shot up, rushing up the stairs. Walking to him, Lorelai leaned down.

"What's wrong?"

"I think she's sick again. I'm going to go check up on her." He stood up and Lorelai nodded, rubbing his arm.

"She'll be ok. It ends."

"I know, I just really hate seeing her like this."

"Go, be with her. I'll cover for you guys." She smiled and he walked up the stairs while everyone else watched him.

"Food! Dig in, people!" She pointed to the plates on the table, putting her son in his high chair.

Walking up, Jess saw Rory lying on Lorelai's bed. Walking in the room, he sat down next to her, his hand rubbing her back slowly.

"You ok?"

"This isn't how I wanted to spend Thanksgiving."

"I know." He leaned down, kissing her shoulder. "I'm sorry."

"It's not your fault. Go back downstairs, I can deal with this by myself. You should be with family, that's what holidays are about."

Smiling, Jess looked at her, pushing a strand of hair behind her ear. "I am with my family."


	23. Thinking

**A/N: I'm so sorry for being so late with this chapter. Exams happened and then I just couldn't get it right. Also, I know I missed answering a few reviews for the last chapter. Balls being dropped all around on my part. Hopefully you'll like this chapter and thank you so much for the reviews. You guys rock :). **

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* * *

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**Thinking**

Much later that night, Jess walked in the diner apartment, finding Rory on the bed, reading. Sitting down next to her, he pushed a strand of hair away from her face.

"Why aren't you sleeping?"

"Woke up to go to the bathroom and couldn't go back to sleep."

"I went for a walk. Sorry I didn't leave a note. Figured you wouldn't miss me."

"It's ok." She smiled at him, leaning over and kissing him. "I would have called, but didn't know if you wanted time alone or what…?"

"I…had to think." Jess shook his head, throwing his shoes off and leaning against the headboard, waiting for her to curl up next to him.

"And?"

Wrapping his arm around her, he kissed the top of her head, rubbing her arm slowly. "I don't know."

"Still?"

"I've been trying to decide if I want him there or not and I cannot figure it out. And I'm trying to keep this baby…" He ran his other hand over her stomach gently, kissing her head again. "…Out of the equation, but I can't." He sighed, frustrated and Rory squeezed his hand.

"It will be ok. Either way, it's going to be fine."

"Yeah, probably."

Rory lifted her head, kissing him softly and smiling. "You don't have to decide anything tonight."

"I know." Jess nodded, sliding down on the bed, taking her with him and then extended his arm, turning off the lights.

"Not going to change?"

"Too comfortable." He smiled softly, pulling her closer to him. "Night."

"I love you."

"Love you too." He kissed the top of her head as she pulled a blanket over them, closing her eyes. After a few minutes, Jess took a deep breath, running his hand over her waist.

"I don't get him."

"What?" Rory opened her eyes again, placing a soft kiss on his chest.

"Jimmy. I look at you and those ultrasound pictures that you're so proud of and the only thing I want is to keep both of you safe and happy at all times while he left like a fucking coward and I don't understand him."

Lifting her head, Rory kissed him until they were both out of breath, her hand squeezing his. "You don't have to get him."

"I wish I could at least find him a good excuse." He shook his head, sighing and she pulled back, waiting for him to sit up on the bed. "I've been thinking about this all night and I cannot figure it out. What was he thinking? How did he fucking live with that decision all this time?"

Hugging him, Rory ran her fingers through his hair, kissing his temple. "Jess…"

"You and this baby are the most important things in my life, you know that, right?" Jess whispered, hugging her as close to him as he could.

"I know." She replied, whispering as well, before pulling back and attacking his mouth again. "He shouldn't come to the wedding. Not if it will bring anything up for you and make you even the least bit unhappy."

"I'm just thinking out loud now. I don't know if I want him there or not."

"Want to just elope? Get this over with?" Rory laughed, trying to help him relax.

"Don't tempt me." He smirked, kissing her quickly. "How would your dress look next to Elvis?"

"Probably very plain."

"Aliens then? If we're doing Vegas, it has to be better than the usual boring guy in black robe."

"I'll ask reverend Skinner tomorrow how he'd feel about wearing a clown suit." Kissing him again, she smiled softly, her fingers running through his hair. "Talk to Luke about Jimmy. He knows more about what happened then and you won't have to sit through that conversation with Liz."

"You honestly think bringing this up to Luke would be a good idea?"

"I think it's going to bug you until you figure it out."

"And you think Luke has any answers?"

"I think he has more answers than you do. He can tell you if Jimmy left because he was a jerk or if something happened between him and Liz. Or if…I don't know. I just think talking to Luke would help."

"I'll give it a try tomorrow."

"Thank you." She smiled, squeezing his hand. "Now get some sleep. It's late."

"I'm going to want to kill myself if you keep practicing those mothering skills on me."

"Oh, shush, twice in one day isn't that bad. At least I didn't bust you for not taking your coat with you." She laughed, placing quick kisses on his lips. "Now sleep."

"Yes, ma'am." He moved back to his pillow, taking her with him and smirked when she cuddled as close to him as she could, covering him with the blankets again. "Are you going to start helping me get dressed in the mornings in a few months?"

"Maybe." Rory smiled, wrapping her arm around him. "At least help you get undressed."

"I like that one."

"Shocking." She snickered, kissing his chest. "Good night."

* * *

Friday afternoon, Jess was sitting at the table in the upstairs apartment, reading and drinking coffee. Walking in the room, Luke nodded, opening the fridge.

"I need milk. The waitress isn't here so I can't send her to the store."

"Ok." Jess nodded, closing his book and putting it on the table. "You busy downstairs?"

"Why?"

"I was just…never mind." He shook his head, opening his book again.

"What is it?" Luke sat down, dropping the milk on the table. "Something wrong? Wedding stuff? Baby stuff?"

"No." Jess shook his head again. "Forget it."

"What's wrong?"

Taking a deep breath, he looked at his uncle. "What can you tell me about Jimmy?"

"Jimmy…? Oh…wow."

"Yeah, I know. What's he like?"

"Jess, you know him way better than I do. Except for his very brief visit here back when you were in high school, I haven't seen him since you were a few months old. You at least spent that summer with him."

"That was a brilliant idea." He sighed, running his hand through his hair. "I'm just curious to know what he was like when I was born."

"Jess…" He put his hand on his nephew's arm sympathetically and smiled. "I don't know what you want me to tell you. Because as much as I'd like to say he was a good guy, he wasn't."

"The truth works just fine. I'm not looking for heroes here."

"The truth is he was a bastard. And not just because he left you and your mom. He was a bastard before that and did a lot of things he shouldn't have. For the longest time after he left, I was expecting Liz to get a call from either prison or the morgue, telling her he was there." He paused for a few seconds, thinking. "Jimmy was never the great guy that made the wrong call when he left. He was a jerk that didn't care about anyone. You're not that."

"This isn't about that."

"Then?"

Pausing for a second, he ran his hand through his hair. "He called yesterday. Asked if he can come to the wedding."

After a very long silence, Luke took a deep breath. "So you've been talking."

"You could say that. He calls once in a while, we talk then ignore each other until the next big holiday."

Clenching his fists under the table where Jess couldn't see him, Luke shook his head slowly. "Do you want him to come?"

"I don't know. I told him I'd have to think about it. What do you think?"

"I think this is your call. It's your wedding, you get to choose who you want there. I don't care." He replied a bit too bluntly and Jess nodded, trying to stop himself from smirking.

"Sure." He drew out the word, making Luke shake his head.

"What happened? When you lived with him that summer?"

"Nothing. That's the thing. It's not like anything happened that would make this an easy decision to make, one way or the other."

"But…?"

"No buts. I spent a few months there, then decided California wasn't my thing and left. I don't think we even had a conversation that wasn't about what to have for dinner for the entire time." Deciding to change the subject, Jess stood up, shaking his head. "Doesn't matter, I'll think about it. Sorry I brought it up. Do you need any help in the diner?"

"Shouldn't you be keeping Matt company?"

"He's walking around town, taking pictures for his girlfriend. I have nothing better to do."

"In that case, sure."

* * *

In the meantime at the inn, Lorelai and Rory were sitting in the library, looking at a catalogue from the flower shop, trying to decide on centerpieces. Looking at her mother, Rory sipped from her mug of decaf coffee.

"I have to ask you a favor."

"Anything you want." Lorelai smiled back, putting down the catalogue. "Do you need something for the wedding?"

"No, this is kind of unconnected to that. Well, it's connected, but not directly and…ok, I should say it instead of trying to decide if it's connected or not." She laughed softly, shaking her head. "Jess talked to Jimmy yesterday. Long story short, he invited himself to the wedding, Jess is thinking about it and I need you to talk to Luke and keep him calm if Jess actually agrees to him coming and Jimmy doesn't change his mind."

"Oh, wow, return of the deadbeat father."

"Yeah, I know. But this is Jess' decision and what I think shouldn't matter, just what he wants and what will make him happy. I'm…neutral."

"How very Switzerland of you." Lorelai laughed, shaking her head. "How neutral are you actually?"

"Germany." She snickered, drinking from her cup. "I want to take him and shake him, asking him over and over again just what the hell he was thinking when he left. If he was honestly that big of a self-absorbed idiot that didn't realize what leaving would mean to his son and wife or if just didn't care. And, you know, what gives him the right to think that he can just march back in and he'll get to be a part of Jess' life now and of…you know what I mean…" She looked around her, making sure no one was near. "When he decided it was ok to just leave."

"But, you know, you're neutral." Lorelai laughed again, putting her hand on Rory's arm.

"I have to be. As much as I dislike him, maybe if he comes, they'll get a chance to have a relationship. So I am keeping my opinions to myself and letting Jess decide. He seems to be dealing with it far better that I am, anyway."

"You can always rant to me."

"Thanks. I'm trying to take whatever side will make Jess happiest." Rory smiled, her fingers twisting her engagement ring. "But I still need you to make sure Luke doesn't decide to go after him with a baseball bat or anything like that if he does come. Or spends the day glaring and snapping at him."

"Just call me Vin Diesel, baby."

"…Because you're fast and furious?"

"_The Pacifier_!" Lorelai shook her head, snickering.

"Ah, makes more sense."

"Pregnancy brain, party of one."

"Quiet!" Rory hushed her mother, looking around them to make sure there was no one.

"Sorry." She smiled apologetically, picking up her mug again. "When are you telling the town?"

"I don't know, I'll have to talk to Jess about it."

"Before or after the wedding?"

"What part of I don't know confused you?"

"Hey, no being mean to your mother!" Lorelai chuckled again.

"I'll work harder on it. Now help me pick something for the wedding before I lose my mind and Jess mocks me again for spending hours looking at flower arrangements and not making a decision."

Opening the catalogue again, Lorelai nodded. "What page where we on?"

* * *

The next day, everyone was in the diner, having lunch. Hearing his phone ringing, Jess stood up, smoothing Rory's hair down.

"I'll be back in a minute."

"Ok."

"Why does he still go outside?" Lorelai tilted her head to the side, smiling.

"Mom, the sign's still there."

"I've decided it doesn't apply to family."

"Does Luke know?"

In the meantime, outside. Taking a deep breath when he saw the California number, Jess lifted the phone to his ear, cursing silently.

"Hey, Jimmy."

_"Hey."_

After a short pause, Jess sighed, shaking his head. "Call for a reason?"

_"Yeah."_ The man on the other end of the phone paused for a second. _"I just…I shouldn't have invited myself to your wedding like that."_

"I'm sure Emily Post would disapprove of your etiquette blunder."

Chuckling, Jimmy shook his head. _"No, I mean yes, she probably would. And Sasha has been chewing me out for that one. But I shouldn't have put you in that position. It's fine. I shouldn't be there. It would cause more problems for everyone."_

"Probably."

_"And I want to tell you that I get why you don't want me there. And it's fine. Not that, you know, you need me to tell you that or anything. Or that you need…something."_ The man rambled, making Jess smirk.

"Sasha breathing down your neck right now?"

_"Not this second, but she has been for the past couple of days. Couch time for me. But it doesn't have anything to do with this call. This is my thing."_

"I hope you at least got a more comfortable couch." Jess decided to ignore the man's comment.

_"A couple of years back."_

"Good to know."

_"Maybe me wanting to come to your wedding was too big of a step. I'll try to make it some other weekend, meet this girl you're marrying. And see your kid, after it's born. If that's ok with you."_

"Jimmy…?" He took a deep breath, releasing it slowly as a million thoughts rushed through his brain.

_"Huh?"_

"Do you want to come to the wedding?"

_"Well, yeah. But if it will mess anything up, I'd…"_

"Come."

_"What?"_

"Just…come to the wedding. I'll make sure things are ok on this end."

_"Are you sure?"_

Nodding once, Jess ran his fingers through his hair. "Yeah. I'll send you an email with the details, I doubt an invitation would make it in time."

_"Thanks."_

"I should go. I'm outside and Connecticut weather is very different than California."

_"Take care of yourself."_

"I usually do. Bye."

_"Bye."_

Walking back inside, he threw his jacket on the back of the chair and Rory leaned over, kissing his cheek.

"Work?"

"Jimmy." He leaned over and whispered in her ear, making sure no one else could hear.

"And?"

"One more coming to the wedding."


	24. Things that go bump in the night

**A/N:Thank you for the reviews. **

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**Things that go bump in the night**

A few days later, Jess walked in their bedroom, finding Rory standing in front of the mirror, turning around, her shirt lifted slightly. Smirking, he cocked an eyebrow as he sat on the bed, looking at her.

"What are you doing?"

"I have a bump." She pointed at her stomach, grinning.

"You do not have a bump."

"Yeah, I do!" She pointed again. "See?"

"Rory, there's nothing there."

"Yes, there is!" She pointed stubbornly one more time and Jess groaned, leaning back on the bed and taking a pillow, putting it over his face. "What?" She asked and he threw the pillow to the side.

"Fine, you have a bump."

"Don't pacify me, I'm not a child."

"So you're acting like one because it's fun?" He chuckled, looking at her.

"I am not acting like a child. I have a bump."

"'Cause if you say it enough times, it will be true?"

"How can you not see it?" She turned around to face the mirror again, lifting her shirt with her hand again. "It's clearly there."

"I'm not arguing about this with you." Jess shook his head, moving further up on the bed.

"You're being stubborn."

"You're trying to wish something into existence. What, you think you won't spend enough time pregnant as it is and need to get a head start?"

"My book says that there should probably be something there by now."

"Key word probably."

"Key word is!" Pointing again she shook her head. "See?"

"Ror, I'm pretty sure I'm the one that spends more time on average looking at you. You look exactly the same. If anything, you've lost some weight."

"That's because I can't freaking eat like usual. Being sick sucks."

"Come here." He extended his arm, waiting for her to walk up to him and sit down on the bed. "I'm sorry you're sick, but that won't make your bump appear by magic."

"But it's there!" Rory protested again, making him groan.

"Fine, you're right, I'm wrong."

"You're learning. I need you to remember that for when we are actually married."

"Why is that?" Jess smirked.

"Because from that day forward, I will always be right, you will always be wrong and, with no exceptions, you won't get a say in anything." She grinned, kissing him.

"You know, I still have time to change my mind."

"And break your pregnant fiancée's heart?" Pouting, she looked at him, trying to stay serious but broke into a fit of laughter. "You wouldn't do such a thing."

"I will if you decide to turn into a dictator. Maybe." He added after a short pause, pulling her to him and hugging her.

"How about a benevolent dictator?"

"Isn't that an oxymoron?"

"No." Rory shook her head, kissing him before leaning on his shoulder smiling. "I'll make sure you get some of the things you want and are happy, while still getting my way all the time."

"How would that work?"

"I'll think of something. Hopefully."

"You're lucky you're pregnant, otherwise I'd leave you right now, you know that, right?" He smirked, kissing the top of her head, making her laugh.

"Sure you would."

"My secretary and I have been planning this for months."

"You don't have a secretary."

"Maybe I'll get one just to annoy you. I'll make sure she's tall, blonde and wears only short skirts."

"Oh, please, Matt and Chris would never let you get away with that."

"You and your spies…damn it." Jess chuckled again, pulling back and kissing her.

"Face it, you're doomed to spend the rest of your life with me." She smiled again, moving closer to him. "What if I don't fit my wedding dress anymore?"

"What?"

"At the wedding? What if my bump gets too big and I can't wear my dress?"

"Your imaginary bump."

"My very real bump."

"Please consider therapy." He laughed, kissing her forehead softly. "Your dress will be fine. Didn't you say Lorelai said she can fix it if gets too small anyway?"

"I'm still worried."

"You're insane, that's what you are."

"You love me for it."

"Despite of it."

"It's part of my charm." Rory snickered, placing quick kisses on his lips. "You'd get bored if I was sane."

"It might be a nice change."

"Then go run with your secretary, I'm sure she's sane. But when she turns out to be a bunny boiler, don't come running back to me."

"Hollywood has taken any fun out of ever having an affair. Damn it, might as well stick to you." Jess kissed her again, hugging her close. "Good thing I love you."

"Very good thing."

"And please stop stressing about the bump. It will happen soon and then you can whine to me about being fat."

"I'd never…"

"Don't even try." He cut her off with a kiss, laughing.

* * *

A few more days later, Jess woke up, grumbling. Looking out the window, he saw it was still very dark outside. Glancing at the other side of the bed and finding it empty, he sat up on the bed and picked up his alarm, cursing when he saw it wasn't even 5AM yet. Hearing noise coming from the bathroom, he stood up, walking to the door and knocking softly.

"Everything ok?"

"Yes." Rory managed to squeeze out from the other side of the door, her voice weak.

"Rory, what's wrong?"

"Nothing. Go back to sleep."

Sighing, he leaned against the door. "Is everything ok?"

"Yes. Just sick, don't worry about it."

"Sure. It's that easy."

"Jess, go back to bed." She tried to argue with him, her voice growing more tired with every word.

"Let me in."

"No."

"Why not?"

"I don't want you to see me like this." She shook her head, wrapping her arms against her body.

"I don't care." Taking a deep breath, he rested his head against the door. "Please, Ror."

"It's unlocked." She sighed and Jess walked in, finding her sitting on the bathroom floor, leaning against the wall. Sitting down next to her, he draped his arm over her shoulders, looking at her.

"How bad?"

Rory just shook her head, resting her head on his shoulder and he kissed the top of her head, sighing.

"I'm sorry."

"Nothing you can do. Just go back to bed, please."

"Nope." This time, he shook his head, smoothing her hair down. "How long has this been going on?"

"Almost an hour."

"I mean you being sick at this time of the night."

"A week or so." She admitted, looking down and taking a deep breath.

"Why didn't you tell me about it?"

"It's not like there's anything for you to do anyway. You should be sleeping, you have work in a few hours."

"So do you." He pointed out, hugging her closer to him.

"I have to deal with this. You don't."

"I want to be with you when you deal with this, isn't that good enough?"

"Jess, there's no use in both of us being exhausted at work. And frankly, I don't like you seeing me lying on the bathroom floor or worse, throwing up."

"Why?" Moving his hand to her lower back, he started rubbing it slowly, kissing her shoulder.

"I just don't." She shook her head slowly, leaning her head back against the wall. Ducking his head down so he could look into her eyes, Jess smiled softly, his hand pushing a strand of hair behind her ear.

"Ror, we're less than a month away until I get to officially promise you I'll be here in sickness and in health. Why can't I just start now?"

"Don't make me want to kiss you, I've been throwing up for the past hour." She smiled weakly, making him chuckle.

"Rain check." He lifted his head, kissing her forehead instead. "How do you do this?" He cupped her face in his hand, caressing her cheekbone with his thumb gently.

"Do what?"

"Get up at dark o'clock, be sick for hours, then go to work and do all that, without even complaining?"

"It's worth it." She just shrugged, her hand squeezing his. "I love you. Love this baby. It's not like I can do anything else. And I do complain."

"I didn't know about this. Points lost for being a complete idiot that managed to not notice this for a week." Jess smirked, kissing her shoulder.

"I've been trying to be quiet. I didn't want to wake you up."

"Yes, please make sure I'm comfortable when you're sick."

"I just don't see the point in both of us being up."

"You're stubborn." He pointed out, pausing for a second. "You can quit. I'll get a part-time job, we'd still be able to make sure things are ok moneywise and you wouldn't have to do this."

"Jess, I'm fine." She leaned her forehead against his, smiling. "This will be over soon. I'd never see you if you took another job. You work too much as it is. And you really should go back to sleep now, you were up for a while after I went to bed."

"I've started writing something new." He admitted, squeezing her hand.

"Novel?"

"Short stories for now."

"When do I get to read them?"

"They were supposed to be something like a wedding present. Surprise fail, obviously." Jess chuckled, kissing her forehead again.

"You'll still make me wait, won't you?"

"Yes. And work on keeping my mouth shut, for future events like this one."

"Will you try to get them published?"

"Probably not. They're more for you than for general consumption."

"So you're being a sap again?" Rory laughed, giving his hand a gentle squeeze.

"Pretty much, yes. Started when I was trying to write the vows."

"How did that go?"

"I got about 3 words in, so good progress." He smirked, hugging her closer to him.

"You'll finish them the night before the wedding, won't you?"

"That early?" Jess laughed. "I was thinking more like 5 minutes before the actually ceremony."

"I wouldn't be surprised. Of course, they'll still be better than anything I can come up with."

"I wouldn't bet on it." He looked at her, cupping her face again. "Feeling better?"

"A bit. Being distracted helps."

"Want to crawl back in bed?"

Nodding, Rory smiled and he stood up, taking her with him and then headed back to their bedroom, pulling the blankets up to cover her after she found her place on the bed next to him.

"Thanks." She whispered softly, drinking from her glass of water.

"For?"

"Keeping me company."

"Next time, wake me up on the way so I can be there from the beginning, ok? I don't like thinking of you sick and alone." Before she had a chance to protest again, he put his finger over her lips, smiling. "Sleep."

"I love you." Rory kissed his finger, looking at him.

"Yeah, yeah. Whatever. Sleep." He chuckled again, waiting for her to fall asleep.

* * *

Later that night, after work, Jess walked in the living room. Finding Rory on the couch, drinking from her coffee and staring at a notebook, he smirked, sitting down next to her.

"What's going on?"

"You mentioned vows this morning so I decided to try and write mine."

"How's it going?"

Lifting her notebook and showing him the blank piece of paper, she smiled. "I keep getting distracted and remembering things."

"Like?"

"Right now, it was the first time I told you I loved you."

"Don't think that'd work in the vows." Jess smirked, leaning closer to her and kissing her. "Figures it would be like that."

"Hey, your fault!" She pointed her finger at him, trying not to laugh.

"How was it my fault? You're the one that started yelling at me!"

"You were being infuriating."

"You were being paranoid." He pointed out, laughing.

"Can we share the blame?"

"Fine." He dragged the word out, looking at her. "But I am just agreeing because you're pregnant."

* * *

_Around 4 years before. _

"_Jess, where do these go?" She asked, holding up a stack of books in her hands and he walked to her, his arm wrapping around her waist from behind and kissed her shoulder, smirking. _

"_Doesn't matter. It's not a science. Just throw them in somewhere."_

"_But it has to be perfect!" She pouted, twisting her neck so she could kiss him. _

"_I believe the whole point of you helping me was for this to be done sooner and we could go do something fun." He pushed her hair out of his way and started kissing her neck, getting a soft moan out of her. Shoving the books in the closest available space on the shelf, she turned around in his arms, making him smirk when she attacked his mouth. Pulling back after a few seconds, she placed a quick kiss on his lips before pushing him away. _

"_Go work." _

"_Oh, bossy." Leaning in and kissing her again, he whispered "I missed you." Before turning around and heading back to his shelves. A few seconds later, the front door opened and they turned around to see a blonde girl standing there, flashing a huge smile._

"_We're closed." Jess grumbled._

"_Even for old friends, Jack?"_

"_Jess." _

"_No, I'm Claudia, silly!" She started giggling as she walked to him, making him snort. Walking up to Jess, Rory took his hand in hers, smiling coldly at the other woman. _

"_Still closed." She announced._

"_Aw, Jack, really?"_

"_Really." He replied._

"_Can I go upstairs and wait for you to be done?" She licked her lip seductively and he shook his head. _

"_Nope. Sorry."_

"_Yeah, sorry." Rory's smiled faded completely and she walked to the front door, opening it. "Lots of work to do so if you'll excuse us…" _

"_I'll see you around, Jack." Claudia announced before leaving the room, glaring coldly at Rory. Closing the door behind the girl, Rory walked back to the shelf she was organizing, trying to stay calm. _

"_So, who was that?"_

"_Random girl." Jess smirked, turning around and crossing his arms across his chest, amused by her jealousy._

"_She seems nice."_

"_Yeah, she's just great." He rolled his eyes, chuckling. _

"_So, uh, do you know what she was doing here?"_

"_She's been coming over once in a while for the past month, trying to figure out which one of us she slept with. And hoping for a repeat, I don't know."_

"_Oh, ok." Rory bit her lip, shoving the books in her hands in the shelf forcefully, while he continued to watch her, trying not to laugh. "And…which one of you did she sleep with?" She asked after a few seconds of silence, still not looking up from the books that she was organizing._

"_Does it matter?"_

"_Just making small talk." She huffed, picking up one of the books she had just shelved and moving it around._

"_About my sex life?"_

"_Well, you know, sleep with someone, sleep with every person they've ever slept with. And this means it is you then." She tried to bite down angry tears, wrapping her arms around herself. _

"_Would it matter if it was?"_

"_No. I mean, you're allowed to, that's what we said and yeah, sure, you can do whatever…" She rambled quickly, lowering her head. Walking up to her, Jess put his hand on her arm, trying to make her look at him, but she shook her head. "Don't." She snapped, now angry and he took a step back._

"_Are you mad?"_

"_No, you're allowed to fuck anyone you want to. I'm not mad."_

"_Ok, correct me if I'm wrong, but you decided that we could see other people."_

"_I didn't freaking mean Shane 2.0! And I didn't expect to actually run into the women you've slept with." _

"_Rory, why are you mad at me? Since I haven't confirmed anything, you don't even know for sure if I actually slept with her or not. And really, you said, and I quote, 'since we won't see each other for months at a time, you can sleep with someone else, if you want to'."_

"_You weren't supposed to want to!" She snapped again, finally looking at him. _

"_Oh, ok, so you're mad at me for not being able to read your mind and knowing that 'you can' actually means 'don't you even dare'?"_

"_No, I'm mad at you because she was here and I am an idiot who can't even look at someone else without thinking of you and is constantly counting down the days until I get to see you again because I miss you so much all the time and because I love you while you apparently think it's ok to go and fuck someone else!" She yelled back at him, the words flying out of her mouth without thinking about them. When she realized what she had said, she looked into his eyes, biting her lip and Jess stepped next to her, crushing his mouth to hers, his hands cupping her face. _

"_I love you too." He whispered when he pulled back, then quickly kissed her again. _

"_You…love me?"_

"_Yes." Jess nodded. "I love you." He repeated, making her smile grow even bigger. Rory started placing quick kisses on his lips, her anger forgotten._

"_I love you." She whispered again between kisses, her hands clutching his t-shirt and pulling him closer._

"_And just for the record, Chris." _

"_What?" _

"_She slept with Chris, not me."_

"_How does she…?"_

"_I'm sorry, did she strike you as a candidate for Mensa?" _

"_So…there was no one else?"_

"_Hordes of women, actually." He chuckled, kissing her again._

"_Not the time for jokes."_

"_No one else." Jess confirmed, nodding. _

* * *

"It was my fault. I don't think I even realized it before I said it." Rory smiled, kissing him.

"Good thing we got into that fight then. Saved me from trying to find some romantic way of telling you."

"You knew?"

"For a while. Just waiting for the right moment."

"That probably wasn't it."

"Probably not." Jess picked her up and pulled her closer to him, hugging her. "It was good to get it out of the way, though."

"And without you jumping in your car immediately after."

"10 years later, I am still mocked for being an idiot." He chuckled, shaking his head before placing quick kisses on her lips.

"I'll never stop. And trust me, this kid will know all those details when he's old enough."

"Good, even more people to make fun of me."

"Hey, serves you right for being stupid. But…I don't know, it was good being apart. We had time to grow up."

"And way more importantly, sleep with other people." He laughed, standing up. "Life would have been much more boring if we would have never broken up. I'm going to go see what I can do for dinner. Any preferences?" He changed the subject quickly, looking at the kitchen door.

"List is on the fridge."

"I feel like a well trained dog." He announced before walking into the kitchen. After a few seconds, Rory walked in as well, hugging him from behind as he was standing in front of the fridge, looking over the list.

"Already missing me? I know I'm irresistible, but seriously now…" Jess chuckled, turning around and hugging her to him.

"I need more coffee, don't flatter yourself."

"You'll get this kid addicted to coffee before it's even born."

"It's decaf, you jerk."

"Same thing."

"Sure. If you have no taste buds." Rory laughed, kissing him.

Placing his hand on her stomach, Jess started running his knuckles over it. "Kid, there is…" He stopped in the middle of the sentence, looking down.

"What?"

"Nothing." He moved his palm up and down, furrowing his brow as she looked at him.

"Ok, now you're seriously freaking me out."

"It's nothing. Just…it's not so…flat?"

"What?" Rory looked at him again, even more confused. Taking her hand in his, Jess moved it with his, smiling.

"I think your imaginary bump is real. You can barely feel it, but it's different."

"Maybe next time you'll listen when I tell you my pants don't fit as well anymore."

"Next time it will hopefully be because of too much pizza, not another surprise baby." He laughed, pulling her in for another kiss.

"How nice." She pouted, trying not to laugh.

"Go stare at your almost bump, I'll make dinner." He pointed with his head in the direction of the bedroom, smirking.

"Thank you!" Rory grinned, picking up the coffee pot and filling her mug before bouncing off to the bedroom, leaving him behind, shaking his head before turning back to look at the list again.


	25. Conspiracy theories gone wrong

**A/N: Sorry for the lack of updates recently, everyone. The new uni term is absolutely kicking my butt. I am however going to try to update more often. Thank you for the reviews and let me know what you think of this chapter. **

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* * *

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**Conspiracy theories gone wrong**

A couple of weeks later, Rory walked into her mother's house, finding her and Will sitting on the living room floor, playing with some toys. Smiling as she sat down next to them, she unbuttoned her coat, throwing it on the couch.

"Hey."

"He still won't walk." Lorelai pouted, looking at her son who was playing with a toy train.

"Mom…"

"Yeah, I know. But you were walking by the time you were his age. What if he'll never walk?"

"Then we'll get him a really big stroller and that'll be that." Rory laughed, moving to the couch.

"Oh, funny."

"Mom, you're stressing out over nothing."

"What if by having a baby when I was my age I've somehow scarred him for life and he'll never be a normal human being?"

"A child of yours…normal? Sure."

"Jess is getting to you, he's got you convinced you're not normal!" Lorelai laughed as well, sitting on the couch next to her daughter. "How's it going?"

"Better. I'm so glad the first trimester is almost officially over, so I can stop being worried about this."

"Ha!" Lorelai snorted, shaking her head. "You think you'll stop being worried? How adorable."

"What?"

"Kid, from now on, worried will be your constant state of mind. Sure, you'll no longer be worried about having a miscarriage. Until you read a newspaper or watch a TV show or someone decides to tell you some awful story about their hairdresser's cousin's dog walker, who lost her baby at 35 weeks, because there is nothing people love more than imparting stories of tragedies and scaring pregnant women. Then, if that stop for even a second, there's the 'oh my God, what if the baby has an extra arm growing from its head!' panic. Which, of course, it doesn't, but try telling your brain that. And the nightmares…oh, Christ, the nightmares."

"What?"

"I had nightmares about everything, from the baby pulling a Ripley and having some sort of monster shoot out of my stomach to Luke leaving us. And when all that is over and the baby is born and everything is ok, the awful, gut-wrenching panic sets in when you realize that you're completely responsible for this whole other human being and why would they even let you take it out of the hospital, do they not realize that you're not fit to do this and you're going to drop that baby on its head and you're going to hurt it and someone better take it away from you before that happens!"

Resting against the couch, Rory took a deep breath, looking at her mother, a terrified expression on her face.

"So…from now on…?"

"Yeah. Pretty much constantly worried."

"Can I change my mind now?"

"No." Lorelai shook her head, putting his hand on Rory's arm, rubbing it sympathetically. "Because despite all those things and the moments of sheer terror, having a kid is completely worth it. It makes you sick and huge and it's as far away from comfortable as it gets but it's all so worth it. And you're going to be a great mother."

"Promise?"

"I swear." She nodded, picking up her son from the floor and kissing his cheek quickly. "First time you hear the heartbeat, first kicks, first kick that's strong enough for Jess to feel…that one's the best. I don't think I'd ever seen Luke smile as much as he did the day he felt Will kick for the first time. First night it doesn't wake up, first smile, laugh, babble, time it recognizes you…the bad times don't even stand a chance."

Wiping her eyes quickly, Rory smiled, chewing on her lip. "Thanks."

"Then of course, said kid gets pregnant or gets his significant other pregnant, and you get to scare them with horror stories like I do."

Laughing softly, she shook her head. "Very generous of you."

"I know. Payback for teenage years, babe."

"Hey, I was a good teenager."

"Yes, when you weren't running around, making out with a certain hoodlum in the alley behind the diner or the upstairs apartment or sneaking off to Distillers concerts without telling me in advance or…you know, that sort of thing. Not to mention letting said hoodlum get you pregnant. All his fault." Lorelai grinned, trying not to laugh.

"Yes, how dare he, ten years after high school. Two adults that love each other and have good jobs, a nice place to live and generally good lives, having a baby. We're both irresponsible."

"Terribly so. You must move back in with me, it's the only way of saving you from his terrible influence."

"Mom…"

"I miss you! I have no one to watch movies with! You're not home often enough!"

"I'm here every other weekend. I'm spending the week before the wedding here. Be a grown up and remember that I have a job that I need to keep in order for this baby to have something to eat."

"Should have just married rich. Then you could have lived here, with me!"

"Definitely. I'm sure my husband would have had no problems with me living with my mommy instead of him."

"That's why you had to marry rich and stupid."

"Too late now, stuck with Jess." Rory grinned, her fingers playing on her stomach.

"Speaking of the hoodlum, where is?"

"Stopped by the diner to talk to Luke. He's meeting us there to head to the inn and go over whatever's left to do for the wedding."

"What does he have to talk to Luke about?"

"Nothing. I just wanted to try my wedding dress on without him being around."

"Nice. Then go on, dresses wait for no woman!" Lorelai stood up, still holding Will and started heading up the stairs, Rory following closely.

* * *

A while later, they walked into the diner, finding Jess sitting at the counter, reading. Wrapping his arms around his waist from behind, Rory smiled, kissing his shoulder.

"How's the dress?" He mumbled, turning around.

"Still perfect."

"Will you listen to me next time I tell you that?"

"No." Rory shook her head sitting next to him.

"You two are nauseating, I hope you know that." Lorelai chuckled, sitting next to her daughter, none of them noticing East Side Tilly seating a couple of chairs down from them. "Luke, food please."

"What do you want?"

"Cheeseburger, fries, onion rings, bacon, pie."

"Seriously?" He looked at her incredulously and Lorelai grinned.

"I've been chasing your son through the house all morning, I need energy."

Shaking his head, Luke looked at Rory. "What can I get you?"

"Um…" She paused for a few seconds, looking through the menu. "Pancakes?"

"For lunch?"

"Please?" She looked at him, biting her lip and Luke nodded.

"Fine." Pointing at his wife, he grinned. "Don't get any ideas."

"But Luke!"

"No." He shook his head again, disappearing in the kitchen.

"It's official, I need to get pregnant again, then he'll feed me anything I want!" Lorelai grinned, leaning forward and looking at Jess. "Jess, be a darling and get us coffee, will you?"

"You can't wait 2 minutes for Luke to be back here?"

"No." The two women answered in unison, making him chuckle.

"If he kills me for being behind the counter, you'll be responsible."

"I'll make sure your epitaph says I am to blame." Lorelai grinned as Jess walked behind the counter, filling two mugs quickly and dropping them in front of the girls.

"Here."

"My hero." Rory gushed, chuckling and kissed his cheek, making him shake his head.

"Mine too!" Lorelai grinned, then tilted her head. "At least until Luke bring me lunch. Oh, bachelorette party!" She remembered and Rory looked at her.

"Seriously?"

"We need to give you an almost proper send off to married life. Since us getting drunk would be no fun for you, I've planned this over with Lane."

"You've been meeting up?"

"Hon, this is Stars Hollow. It's impossible to not see someone."

"I miss living here."

"You could always move back." She smiled again.

"Sure. The commute would be awesome."

"Find a job in Hartford."

"And Jess' job?"

"Erm…leave Jess?" Lorelai offered and he glared and her.

"Hope you don't expect me to get you coffee again after that comment."

"I'm not worried, Luke will be back here any minute."

"Mom, plans for the party?" Rory redirected the conversation, squeezing Jess' hand.

"Oh, yeah. We were thinking either manicures or a massage or both during the day, then all you can eat movie night on the Thursday before the wedding. Wedding themed: _The Wedding Crashers_, _7 brides for 7 brothers_, _Bride of Chucky_, _Cake_ or _27 Dresses_. Or anything else we can think of."

"Sounds good."

"Good. Jess, do you have any plans on how you're going to celebrate your last few days as a free man?"

"Oh, please, I haven't been free in years." He chuckled, running his hand slowly over Rory's leg. "Matt and Chris want to go out drinking."

"I hate you." Rory sighed, smiling at him.

"I can always get so drunk that I have a hangover the next day, then we'll both feel the same."

"Sure. It will be exactly the same." She stuck out her tongue at him, laughing.

"Food." Luke smiled, putting the plates in front of the girls. "What did I miss?"

"We were talking about their bachelor and bachelorette parties."

"You're having one?" Luke looked at Jess incredulously and he shrugged.

"Matt and Chris are pushing me. You're more than welcomed to come."

"Pass."

"Luke…" Lorelai glared at him and Luke shook his head.

"As long as it's here. I'm not driving to Philadelphia." He shot Lorelai a look before focusing his attention back on Jess.

"If they decide to have it after Christmas, then it'll be here. That's as much as I can give you."

"We'll talk."

* * *

Later that night, Rory and Jess were walking down the street to the diner when they spotted a couple of groups of people walking inside Miss Patty's studio. Nodding in that direction, Rory smiled.

"Can we go see what's going on?"

"Can you go see while I go back to the apartment?" He smirked, tightening his grip on her and she turned her head to look at him, pouting softly.

"Please, Jess."

"Fine." He sighed, kissing her quickly. "You get away with far too much."

"Probably." She agreed, letting go of his waist and taking his hand instead, starting to drag him towards the dance studio. As soon as they reached it, she opened the door, finding almost everyone in town gathered in the small room with Taylor presiding. Jumping up from her seat when she saw them, Patty wiped her cheeks quickly, trying to calm down.

"Rory!" Walking to her, the woman hugged her, tears streaming down her cheeks again.

"What's going on?" Rory asked, wrapping her arms around the older woman quickly.

"Oh, honey, why didn't you tell us?" She managed to whisper between sobs, making Rory even more confused.

"Tell you…what?"

"It's ok, we know now." Letting go of Rory, Patty pulled a chair closer to her. "Go on, honey, sit down."

Sitting down and looking at Jess, who was looking equally confused, Rory took a deep breath. "Know…what?"

Patty tried to answer but started sobbing again so she sat down. Looking around her, Rory noticed that almost everyone's eyes were red and tissue boxes were scattered everywhere. Standing up again, she looked at Jess, shaking her head.

"Jess, call mom, tell her to come over." She whispered before she turned around to look at everyone else again. "Ok, guys, this is ridiculous! What's going on?" Taking a deep breath when no one would answer her, she walked to the centre of the room, crossing her arms against her chest. "I know I don't technically live in Stars Hollow anymore but I did live here for a very long time, I spend every other weekend here, I'm getting married here, so you hiding whatever this is from me and mom and Luke is just not nice! You're seriously freaking me out, so please stop!" Letting out a breath, she looked at Jess who'd just walked back in the room, nodding to let her know Lorelai was on her way.

"Taylor, I swear, if this was your idea and you're telling everyone some terrible story about Jess to get them on your side, I will be so mad, you have no idea!"

When the man didn't answer her, she sighed again, walking to the door. "Fine, you don't want to tell me what's going on, great! I hope you don't expect me to care!"

"How long, sugar?" Babette whispered from her chair, wiping her eyes.

"How long…what?"

"How long do you have?" Patty sobbed as well, making Rory turn around to look at her.

"Guys, no one is making any sense! What do you mean?"

"Rory, there's no use hiding it from us any longer. East Side Tilly heard you today in the diner."

Looking at Jess, she took a deep breath, shaking her head. "What did she hear?"

"We know you're not drinking, sweetie! And that you're not feeling well." Babette nodded, pulling more Kleenex out of a box.

"And food!"

"What about food?"

"You barely touched your lunch." Patty answered, making Rory sigh.

"Plus you're barely ever in the diner any more, and you look so pale and tired all the time…"

"Everyone, you're reading far too much into this, ok?"

"Thanksgiving!" Kirk shouted, making Rory and Jess look in his direction.

"What about Thanksgiving?" She asked again, walking to her fiancé and taking his hand, trying to keep him calm.

"I dropped by Lorelai's house and you were both upstairs!"

Laughing softly, she shook her head. "And from this you reached the conclusion that I was sick?"

"You are getting married very fast, doll!" Babette chimed in again, this time calmer.

"Guys, Jess and I have been together for years. If we can get married now, does anyone here actually see a point in us waiting?"

"Suppose not…" Someone mumbled and a few other voices joined in.

"I am not sick, I am definitely not dying, everything is ok. I swear."

"Are you sure?" Kirk yelled from the back and Rory nodded again, smiling.

"Yes."

"Then what's going on?" Patty asked again after a few seconds of silence, making Rory blush and look at Jess, squeezing his hand.

"Uh…nothing."

"Rory, what is it?" Babette inquired again just as Lorelai walked in.

"Hey, what's wrong?"

"Nothing, we solved it." Rory reassured her.

"You did not solve anything, young lady!" Taylor protested, looking at her. "We demand to know what's going on!"

Looking from Jess to her mother, Rory took a deep breath, biting her lip.

"Can I tell them?" She whispered in Jess' ear and he shrugged, rubbing her back slowly.

"Are you sure you want to?" He whispered back, looking at her, while all the people in the room watched them.

"I…maybe?"

"You don't have to tell them anything, Ror." He whispered again and Lorelai nodded. "We can just leave."

"I want to." She decided after thinking about it for a few seconds and Jess nodded, kissing her cheek.

"Ok."

"Is that ok with you?"

"Your town, your decision." He smiled softly, his arm still wrapped around her. Kissing him quickly, Rory turned around to face the town again, holding his hand tightly.

"First, I really appreciate your concern. Organizing a meeting over this is just…uh…exactly what I expected from all of you. And I really wasn't kidding when I said nothing is wrong. In fact, everything is pretty much the opposite of wrong."

"Honey, just say it already!" Someone yelled from the room and everyone else mumbled in agreement.

"Ok." Breathing in again and releasing the air slowly, she squeezed Jess hand even harder, biting her lip. "The reason for all of this is…well…I'm pregnant. Jess and I are going to have a baby."

Everyone in the room was silent for a few moments, while the three waited for their reaction.

"Are you serious?" Someone asked and Rory nodded, biting her lip.

"We wanted to wait until it was safer before we told everyone, but yes. Very serious." She grinned, glancing at Jess quickly.

"How far along?" Someone shouted from the back.

"Boy or girl?"

"Have you thought of a name?"

"Yes, are you naming her Lorelai if it's a girl?"

"Are you moving back here to raise it?"

People started asking from every corner of the room and soon enough, everyone was asking something, while Rory was trying to keep up with all of them.

"Enough!" Lorelai stepped in when she saw her daughter being overwhelmed by people trying to hug her and ask questions. "Let the girl breathe, you're going to hug her to death. One question at a time, ok?"

Pointing to a chair, Babette grinned. "Have a seat, doll." After a second of silence, everyone started asking questions again, making Jess chuckle while Rory and Lorelai were trying to answer all of them as best as they could.

"What happened first, baby or engagement?" Someone from the crowd asked again and everyone else went silent, waiting for Rory's answer.

"Engagement." She lied, squeezing Jess' hand. "We found out about the baby a few days after."

Seemingly satisfied with the answer, Patty tried to ask something else but Rory stood up, taking a small step away from everyone.

"I know everyone has a lot of questions, but it's late and I'm very tired, so can we please wait until tomorrow?" Suddenly everyone stepped back, making her giggle. "Thanks."

"Are you ok, sugar?" Babette asked, concerned and Rory just nodded.

"Yes. Tired, that's all. I'll see everyone tomorrow." Taking Jess's hand, she quickly squeezed through the crowd and outside, with Lorelai following them, leaving everyone else behind, talking.

"They're all out of their minds, I hope you realize that!" Jess chuckled, hugging her close to him as they started walking towards the diner again.

"What did I miss?"

Rory quickly filled her mother in, laughing.

"They seriously thought…?"

"Yes."

"Crazy." Lorelai shook her head, pointing to the diner door. "Go get some sleep. I'll hide you from them tomorrow."

"Thanks, mom. Night." Hugging Lorelai quickly, Rory walked inside the diner, with Jess following her up the stairs into the apartment. Sitting on the edge of the bed, she just crashed back, Jess sitting next to her, his hand playing in her hair.

"Everything ok?"

"Yeah."

"You didn't have to tell them anything."

"I know. I was just tired of hiding this. I'm glad everyone knows now, I was getting so tired of hiding it. And…I don't know, if something bad happens, it would be nice to have their support."

"Nothing will happen." He reassured her, lying down next to her and waiting for her to curl up to him. "Why'd you tell them it happened the other way around?"

"I don't know." Rory shook her head, kissing his chest softly. "None of their business, I think. And it would have lead to far too much gossip and guessing about why we're getting married and I didn't want that."

"Ok."

"Did it bother you?" She looked up at him, biting her lip.

"As I said, your town, your call. I don't care." He smiled softly, rubbing her arm. "Go to sleep, it's late."

"You're going to stay up?"

"I was going to read for a while."

"Ok." Rory stood up, taking her shoes off and motioning towards the bathroom. "I'll take a shower and then be back."

"Need company?" Jess smirked, making her shake her head, laughing.

"How generous of you. You'd think that after all this time, you'd stop trying to suggest stuff like that in Luke's apartment."

"Never." He chuckled, picking up his messenger bag from the floor and rummaging through it, looking for his book. Almost half an hour later, Rory walked back in the room, crawling in bed next to Jess. Smiling when she saw the title of his book, she kissed his shoulder.

"I love you."

"Hm?" He looked away from his book, pushing a strand of hair behind her ear.

"You don't have to read pregnancy books with me, Jess." She offered but he shrugged, kissing the top of her head.

"Might as well. This way I can let you know if you've missed some essential milestone, like the kid growing a spleen or something." He smirked and Rory laughed, curling up closer to him.

"I love you."

"Go to sleep." He rubbed her arm slowly, looking at her and Rory shook her head, laughing softly before she closed her eyes.

"Good night."


	26. Celebratory fears

**A/N: Short-ish chapter since real life is still massively kicking my butt. But hey, 2 weeks 'till Easter break. Thank you for the reviews.**

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**Celebratory fears**

A few days later, Rory picked up her phone, seeing Jess' number flash across the screen.

"Hey. What's up?"

"_Are you doing anything after work?"_

"Nope. Why?"

"_No reason."_ He let out a soft chuckle, making her laugh as well.

"Sure." She drew out the word playfully.

"_I'll pick you up."_

"You're leaving work early?"

"_Perks of being your own boss."_ He smirked at the other end of the phone. _"Got to go now, see you later."_ He cut her off before she had a chance to ask anything else. Putting the phone back on the desk, Rory smiled, sipping from her cup of coffee.

* * *

A few hours later, Rory walked out of the building, saying goodbye to her coworker before she spotted Jess, leaning against their car.

"Hi." She wrapped her arm around his waist, kissing his cheek quickly. "Do you know what today is?"

"Thursday." He chuckled, kissing her again. "Go on, this is important." He let go of her and opened the car door, waiting for her to get inside before walking to the driver side and driving off.

"Jess, I'm serious, do you know what today is?"

"Unless I've missed something, I'm pretty sure it's still Thursday. What, is there some wedding countdown that I'm not aware of?"

"9 days, but that's not important."

"Ok, 5 days until Christmas then?" He guessed, trying to hide his smirk. "How was work?"

"Fine." Rory huffed, crossing her arms against her chest.

"Oh, chilly." He chuckled and she shook her head.

"This is important, Jess!"

"It's not our anniversary, is it? I can never remember these things."

"Forget it." She bit her lip, trying to calm herself down. After a few minutes of silence, Jess pulled the car in a parking space, looking over at her.

"We're here."

"That was close."

"Yes. Are you going to keep being mad at me or would you like to see where we are?"

Looking over at him, she weighed the options in her head. "I want to see where we are. But I am still mad at you."

"Doesn't work that way, I'm not doing this if you're mad." He grinned, making her glare at him.

"Jess, I'm tired, sick and pissed off. Now unless this is the greatest surprise in the world, it will not make up for you not knowing what today is."

Cupping her face in his hand, Jess leaned over, placing a quick kiss on her cheek. "Give me one minute. If you don't like it, we can go home and you can pout all night."

"I'm more angry than pouting." She smiled hesitantly, looking at him.

"My bad." He kissed her quickly, getting out of the car and walking to her side. Taking Rory's hand, he started heading towards a shop down the street, watching her expression as she started smiling, while still looking slightly apprehensive. Stopping in front of the window, he smiled, pointing with his head to the store door.

"Want to go in?"

"Jess, this is…" She grinned, hugging him.

"Yeah."

"But…it's…" She stopped mid-sentence, trying to hold back tears.

"Seriously? This is going to make you cry?" Jess teased, kissing her forehead.

"I'm pregnant and emotional, you jerk!"

"I know, why do you think we're standing in front of a baby shop?" He chuckled as she hugged him closer to her. "Figured you'd like to celebrate the first trimester being over with some sort of baby related purchase. Especially since the last few weeks have been mostly about the wedding."

"So you made me get mad at you for no reason?"

"It's fun." He laughed, kissing her cheek. "But really, between you mentioning this date about 20 billion times in the last few weeks and the big, red circle on the calendar in the kitchen, you thought I wasn't going to remember this?"

"I don't know, you have your stupid moments." Rory stuck out her tongue, laughing.

"Oh, snap." He smirked, looking at her before pointing to the door. "Go on, it's going to close at some point."

"Let's go." She grabbed his hand, dragging him through the front door.

"So, this is what a pastel colored nightmare looks like." Jess deadpanned as soon as they were inside, making her laugh.

"You'd dress this baby in black, navy and army green at all times, wouldn't you?"

"And red, if I must." He chuckled, wrapping his arm around her waist as Rory looked around her.

"Thank you. For doing this."

"Just remember we're still moving, so buying the entire store just means more shit to pack and move."

"I'm not worried, it's not like I'm going to do any of the work." Rory grinned, kissing his cheek. "Look how adorable this is." She lifted a dress, running her fingers over the ruffles.

"Sure. Because that's clearly gender neutral enough to work in case it's a boy."

"I thought you were rooting for a girl."

"I don't care." He shrugged. "But if the kid is a boy, you will cry your eyes out at some point in the next few months because the first thing you bought for our kid is totally wrong and you're going to be a terrible mother and ruin his life." He pointed out and Rory snickered, shrugging.

"Probably." She put the dress back on, tilting her head towards the toy section. "Want to head over there?"

"Sure."

Picking up a toy, Rory smiled, lifting it to show Jess. "Does this say 'I will be loved forever and ever'?"

"Not really. I think the talking toys are over there." He chuckled and she slapped his chest, putting the toy back down.

"So not what I meant."

"Really? Could have fooled me."

"This one!" She lifted a caterpillar, grinning. "Look how cute it is."

"It's a freaking caterpillar."

"It's the Very Hungry Caterpillar!"

"Uh-huh. Sure. Bad rhyming and retarded plots. What, picking up some sort of Seuss related crap was too hard?"

"Jess, this is for a tiny kid. You can't read Hemingway and Bukowski to her and hope she turns out ok."

"Children's books are boring and frankly, they insult a kid's intelligence. Trains and trees and freaking farm animals holding hands and living happily together. Sure. Green eggs and freaking ham."

"And reading a multi-chapter book to a child that has an attention span of 5 minutes is a better idea?"

"I don't care. It's better than boring them to sleep with that!" He pointed to the toy again, chuckling. "There is no way you'll get away with exclusively reading stupid kid's books to it."

"I don't want to exclusively read children's books. But fairy tales are important."

"We'll talk." He kissed her temple, looking at the toys again. "What about a teddy bear? They're classic."

"Only if I can find a cute one." Rory smiled, picking one up and holding it up in front of Jess. "Does this fit your standards?"

"It has a dress."

"I can't help it, dresses are so cute!" She laughed, kissing him. "Can I change my mind and definitely want a girl now, just so I can buy as many frilly outfits as possible?"

"Sure. My no-dating rules still stand." He smirked, cupping her face in his hand and running his thumb over her cheekbone.

"You're cute if you think I ever took you seriously."

"Try me." He smirked, kissing her shoulder quickly. "I'll walk around, you find something gender neutral."

"You sure?"

"Yeah. Come find me if you need me." He nodded, kissing her shoulder again before leaving her alone. A few minutes later, Rory walked behind Jess, hugging him from behind and looking over his shoulder.

"It's cute." She smiled, seeing a light green baby onesie in his hand.

"It's small."

"Babies tend to be small." She smiled again, kissing his shoulder. "I'm done." She extended her hand, showing him a teddy bear. "It's cute, works for both and it's the kind of thing that can be kept forever."

"By you, because I doubt the kid will take a teddy with it to college."

"Girls tend to be sentimental."

"Fine, someone will have this forever. If it doesn't disintegrate by then."

"If it doesn't." Rory laughed, grabbing the onesie from him. "Can I get this as well?"

"You like it?"

"Ok, let me explain this to you: tiny baby outfit and pregnant woman. What does that tell you?"

"That we better get out before our house is overwhelmed with baby clothing?" He smirked, running his fingers through her hair.

"Oh, yeah, we have at least a couple of months before that happens."

"We have to move first."

"Don't remind me, I don't know when we'll have time for that as well."

"I'm sure we'll make some." He kissed her cheek again, pointing at the register. "Ready?"

"Yeah. Thank you."

"For?"

"This. Bringing me here. Remembering."

"Anytime."

* * *

Much later, Rory walked out of the bedroom, finding Jess sitting on the couch, looking at the onesie. Sitting next to him, she pulled her knees to her chest, wrapping her arms around them.

"Why are you still awake? It's almost 2 AM."

"Can't sleep."

"What's wrong?" She ran a hand through his hair, smiling softly.

"Nothing."

"Jess…"

"I'm scared." He admitted, not looking at her and she tilted her head, looking at him.

"What of?"

"This." He lifted the small piece of clothing, still staring back at it. "It's tiny."

"And again I point out, babies are tiny. They're not that scary."

"I'm just…I don't want to mess up its life. You were born to do this. You're good with kids and all that. They like you. I'm just…I'm scared." He let out a breath, looking at her and Rory smiled, leaning over and kissing his temple, while her hand still played in his hair.

"Jess, you..."

Cutting her off, he shook his head. "I don't want to mess it up. I don't know how to do this. I didn't have anyone that I can think of and use as an example. I'd read adult books to it and let it watch completely inappropriate movies and just fuck everything up."

"Jess, you're not going to fuck anything up." She whispered softly, picking up his hand and squeezing it tightly. "I'm sure being scared is normal, because if it isn't, then we're both in trouble. It's big and terrifying but you're amazing and you'll do just fine."

"I don't do baseball and football and shit like that. What if the kid ends up loving sports?"

"Then we'll ask Luke to explain the rules to us and take turns trying not to look too bored at its games. And the book thing? You can read whatever you want to it. As long as you realize that you're the one that's going to have to explain what a whorehouse is because I'm not touching that one with a 10 foot pole." Rory smiled when she saw a small smile appearing on his lips, before taking a deep breath. "You can choose to not believe me, but you will be a great dad to this kid."

"You have a lot of faith in me." He smirked, looking at her again.

"Yeah, well, I have to. It's part of whole marrying you thing." She cupped his face in her hand, her fingers playing slowly in his hair. "It's going to be ok, I promise."

"Yeah. I'm probably just over-thinking this. You must be rubbing off on me or something."

"It was bound to happen. Feel the need to write a pro/con list now?"

"Let's not get too ahead of ourselves here, ok?" He chuckled, placing his arm on her shoulders and pulling her closer to him, kissing the top of her head. "Thanks."

"Jess, I'm here any time you need me. I love you, but you don't always have to be the strong one." She kissed him softly, smiling. "Now back to bed, mister, or you'll be too tired for dinner tomorrow and I know how heartbroken you'll be if you miss it."

"Oh, yeah, terribly."

* * *

The next evening, Emily, Lorelai, Rory, Luke and Jess were gathered in the elder Gilmore's living room, sitting on couches and chair, drinking quietly and waiting for Richard to arrive so that they could start dinner.

"How are you feeling, Rory?" Emily asked, looking at her granddaughter.

"Not great. I've decided all the books lied to me when they said I'm supposed to start feeling better now. Hopefully it'll get better in time for the wedding."

"If not, we can always have a puke bucket at the altar." Lorelai grinned.

"Lorelai!" Emily admonished her, looking angry and Lorelai's smile disappeared.

"Sorry, mom." Looking back at Rory, she winked. "We'll keep it hidden."

"Decorate it with that ridiculous flower arrangement." Jess smirked as well, making Rory and Emily glare disapprovingly at him.

"What's wrong with the flowers I picked and since when are you even entitled to an opinion?" Rory laughed, squeezing his hand.

"Nothing. They're gorgeous, really."

"Oh, shut up." She grinned again, looking at her mother. "How does 'I'm marrying him despite the fact that he can never keep his mouth shut when he's supposed to' sound for the vows?"

"Only if you add 'However, he does it so often when he's expected to make conversation that people have confused him for a mute in the past'." Lorelai laughed as well, drinking from her glass.

"Wait, you're writing your own vows?" Emily chimed in and Rory looked back at her.

"Yes."

"But it's tacky!"

"Grandma, this is important to us. Now I appreciate your opinion, but we've discussed this with Revered Skinner and he has no problem with it and I promise we will avoid all mentions of meatloaf or peanut butter or whatever it was that your friends' daughter said 10 years ago, so please respect the fact that this is our completely non-negotiable wish."

Snorting, Emily stood up, heading for the drinks cart. "Anyone need a refill?"

"Nice! You've left my mother speechless!" Lorelai leaned over to Rory, whispering so that only she could hear.

"I practiced it."

"Refills?" Emily's voice boomed again and Lorelai extended her arm, holding up her glass.

"Me, please!"

"Sorry I'm late everyone." Richard walked in the room, smiling. "What did I miss?"

"Nothing much." Rory smiled, getting up and hugging her grandfather. "How was work?"

"Good. Our China office needs to learn about time zones, though."

"Can we have dinner now? I'm starving!" Lorelai whined from her seat, taking her glass from her mother.

"Not yet." Emily announced, sitting down and Rory took her place next to Jess, everyone looking at Emily.

"What is it, mom?"

Sitting down next to his wife, Richard smiled, looking at his granddaughter and her fiancé. "We have a wedding present for you first."

"Oh, God, this won't end well." Lorelai sighed. "Is it another China set like the one you got me? Or some terrible painting?"

"No. We want to get you a house." Emily announced and the room went dead silent, everyone waiting for the younger couple's reactions.


	27. It'll be ok

**A/N: Thank you for the reviews, everyone :). I hope you like this chapter. **

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**It'll be ok**

_"No. We want to get you a house." Emily announced and the room went dead silent, everyone waiting for the younger couple's reactions._

"A…house?" Rory asked after a few seconds of silence and Emily nodded.

"Yes. A house. You're going to have a child soon, you need a place to live."

"We have a place to live." Jess mumbled under his breath but the older woman ignored him and continued talking.

"We wanted to do this for your mother as well, but she is too attached to that house of hers to ever consider it. You two, however, need a bigger place to live, since there is no room for a child in your apartment. Also, since you're renting it, I assume you don't intend to spend your lives in it. We have a meeting with a real estate agent for the Saturday after you come back from your honeymoon."

Glancing at Jess quickly, who was clenching his fists, trying to stay quiet, Rory took a deep breath. "Grandma, grandpa, this is really generous of you but we really need to talk about this before we can promise you we'll meet with anyone, ok?"

"What is there to talk about? We're only doing this for you!"

"Yes, and we appreciate it, but Jess and I need to talk this through before we can give you a definite answer. Thank you so much for your offer, though. This is just…wow. Very overwhelming."

"Rory, there is…" Emily started talking again but Rory interrupted her, smiling coldly.

"Grandma, as I already said, we're very grateful that you even considered this, but I cannot make a decision by myself, so unless you want us to leave the room to talk and delay dinner even more, there is no way I can give you an answer tonight. Jess and I have our own way of dealing with things."

"Jess, do you have a problem with this?" Emily looked at the young man and he took a deep breath, trying to stay calm.

"Rory and I need to talk about it. Thanks, anyway."

Huffing, Emily stood up, heading for the door. "I'll tell the maid to get dinner ready."

"Twice in one night." Lorelai leaned over to Rory, whispering in her ear. "You have superpowers, kid."

"Rory, I really think you should consider it." Richard looked at her and she faltered, biting her lip.

"We will." Jess answered the man when she didn't say anything for a few seconds, squeezing Rory's hand.

"Well, are you ever coming to the dining room?" Emily's voice boomed from the doorway and everyone stood up, starting to walk that way. Grabbing Rory's hand quickly, Jess held her behind, leaning closer to her ear.

"We can go if you want to."

"I'm fine. You?"

"I've been better." He smirked, kissing her cheek quickly before they took their seats.

* * *

Later that night, they were in the diner apartment. Leaning against the counter as she turned on the coffee machine, Rory looked at Jess who was sitting down in one of the chairs.

"So? What do you think?"

"I don't know, Ror. You?"

"I…don't know either. Think we can at least meet up with the real estate agent and see what they have? Just…give it a look. What's the worst that can happen?"

"We come home the next day to a phone call from your grandmother informing us she bought us a house because we said the front door had a nice shape or something?" He smirked, shaking his head.

"Yeah, there's always that. But grandma does have a point, we need to move."

"Yes, and we've known that for a while. Us moving has nothing to do with her or anything else. We can find a place by ourselves. Sure, it will not be anywhere near as fancy as whatever she wants to buy us, but…I don't know."

"But you wouldn't feel comfortable living in a house that they bought us." She smiled softly, looking at him and Jess nodded.

"No, I wouldn't."

Taking a deep breath, Rory turned around and poured herself a cup of coffee, still facing the window. "I'll call her tomorrow."

"Rory, don't." Jess sighed, running his hand through his hair. "What do you want to do?"

"Doesn't matter. I don't want you to feel uncomfortable in our home. So we can't do this anyway."

"I'll get over it if you're really sure you want to do this." He replied after a long pause, looking at her.

"Don't be self-sacrificing, it's not you." She finally turned around to look at him, holding her coffee cup in one hand.

"I'm not. I'm just…I know they can get us something we'll never be able to afford. Hell, we can't even afford to buy a place right now, not with wedding and baby and everything else. And yes, I'd be uncomfortable but if you really want this and think you'd be ok with it, then we can at least go have a look at some places."

"Why wouldn't I be ok?"

"Oh, come on, Ror. Dinner would be mandatory. We both know that. Every Friday, no matter what, we'd have to scuttle to get out of work in time to make it there by 7. How do you think that's going to work when that kid is born, huh? Run from work to daycare to house, drive like maniacs only to be at the receiving end of yet another lecture on why it's so important to be punctual."

"Jess…"

"Tell me I don't have a point."

"Fine, you're right." She sighed, looking at him.

"You're paying them back for the money you took for the first two years of Yale and you really think you'd be fine doing this?"

"Fine, Jess, I already agreed with you!" She snapped, drinking from her mug.

"Hey, why are you angry at me all of a sudden? I'm just stating the obvious here."

"Because I can't help but think of how much easier things would be if we didn't have to pay rent or a mortgage or anything. More money would mean better schools for this kid. More toys, more vacations, more books, more everything. One of us could work from home. That would mean no daycare. Now don't get me wrong, I'm sure some people are totally qualified to take care of kids but this is our kid. I don't know how I'll feel about a stranger spending more time with it then we do."

"You're overreacting."

"Jess, you wanted me to see your points. Now can you at least consider mine?"

"Sure. We'd have more money. Sell our souls in the process, but hey, who gives a damn?"

"So five seconds ago it was 'I'll do it if you really want me to' and now we'd be selling our souls? Make up damned your mind, will you?" She snapped again, biting her lip. "Sorry, I'm tired. That came out worse than I wanted it to be."

Chuckling, he stood up, walking to her and wrapping his arms around her waist as she rested her head on his shoulder.

"I want this kid to have everything." She whispered softly in his ear, making him smile.

"I know." Rubbing her back slowly, Jess kissed her temple. "Go to bed, we'll fight over this tomorrow."

"I don't want to fight with you. And I'm not sleep tired, just…long day tired."

"Huh. Really?" He smirked, pulling back to look at her. "So you were yawning all the way back here because…?"

"Don't be a jerk." Rory laughed, slapping his chest. "Promise me you'll at least think about it."

"I'll think about it."

"Promise?"

"Do I have to?" He smirked again, making her laugh.

"Yes."

"Fine. I promise I'll think about it then."

A while later, Jess put his book down, looking at Rory.

"You're not sleeping."

"You haven't turned the page for the past 10 minutes." She chuckled, turning around. "I'm thinking."

"So am I."

"It could be good, Jess." She looked at him, sitting up on the bed.

"I know." He admitted, sighing. "But we'd be stuck with dinner for the rest of time."

"Yeah. But it's not just us we have to think about."

"I know that too." He smiled, looking at her and pushing a strand of hair behind her ear.

"You know…there's the other option." She sighed as he turned serious, shaking his head.

"We've talked about that before. No."

"Jess, come on. Just…think about it."

"No. I've thought about this, we've fought about this, hell, we've almost broken up because of this before. No way."

"It's my money. It's being wasted in a bank account. I don't think great-grandma's going to ask for anything, now, do you?"

"She might be too dead for that." He chuckled, looking at her. "It's your money, fine. But I can't do this."

"Stop being so damn proud for a second and think of how good this could be."

"Rory, don't make me do this. Keep your money in a bank account. I'm sure college is going to cost a fortune in 20 years. Save it for that."

"It's not my freaking money!" She shot up from the bed, looking at him. "We're getting married in a week. I don't care if you want to be stubborn, but I believe in the whole 'sharing everything', so don't give me that crap. A few weeks ago, you said it you wanted to be with me in sickness and in health. Why won't you let me share this with you?"

Shaking his head again, Jess stood up, looking at her. "It's your money."

"This is how it's going to be after we get married? My money, your books, my plates, your fucking whatever?"

"So now you're putting plates on the same level as a quarter of a million dollars?"

"Yes. Because it's the same. How do we separate things? The pots we bought together are good, but the book you brought is just yours? Do I need to ask for permission if I want to wash the cup you got from the printing press?"

"Rory, this isn't even in the same ballpark! Stuff is stuff. I don't give a fuck. But that money is yours. We can share everything but that."

Walking away from him, she put her shoes on, trying to calm herself down. "I…can't be in the same room as you right now." Picking up her coat from the hanger, she shot him a look. "I'll be at mom's place."

"Rory…" He walked towards her, trying to stop her but she slammed the door behind her.

* * *

A few minutes later, Rory opened the back door and stepped in the kitchen of her mother's house, finding Lorelai sitting at the kitchen table.

"Hey, hon." Standing up quickly, she wrapped her arms around Rory, worried. "What's wrong?"

"Jess and I had a fight. Can I stay on the couch tonight?"

"Sure."

Lorelai tried to pull back but Rory kept her close, making her smile.

"That bad?"

"Ugh." Rory sighed, finally letting go of her mother and opening the fridge. "I'm stealing some orange juice."

"Take anything you want. What happened? Mom's offer?"

"Started at that. Then we debated my trust fund again and we both just exploded, I guess." Pouring some juice in a glass, Rory smiled. "Why are you awake?"

"Will was crying." Lorelai shrugged. "Don't worry about that, tell me about your fight."

"There's nothing more to say. We've both been stressed with planning a wedding so fast, the baby, work, me feeling like crap and just everything…things just went to hell from there."

"But the wedding's still on, right?"

"What? Of course it's on!" Rory looked at her mother, tilting her head. "You don't think he thinks…"

"Rory, no. I was just asking. I'm sure Jess isn't crazy enough to even assume something like that."

"You sure?"

"Yes. Get some sleep, you'll talk about this in the morning when you're both calm and everything will be ok again."

"Yeah…" Rory smiled, putting her empty glass in the kitchen sink and looking at the doorway. "Pillows?"

"Will's room, I'll get them out for you." Lorelai smiled, standing up and hugging her daughter. "It'll be alright."

"Thanks, mom."

"Any time."

* * *

A couple of hours later, Rory barged in through the door to the diner apartment, finding Jess sitting up on the bed, reading. Closing the door behind her, she started pacing through the room while he watched her, confused.

"The wedding's still on! It has to be on. We can't not get married because of a stupid, idiotic fight."

"What?" He looked at her, shaking his head.

"We're still getting married, right?" Rory bit her lip, suddenly hesitant and looked at him.

"Why wouldn't we?"

"Because we fought. Days before the wedding, we have a fight and I storm out and then mom asked about the wedding and I was fine, and I do mean just fine. But of course, I started thinking about it and I started panicking and I need you to tell me we're still getting married a week from tomorrow."

"I think it's more like a week from today, really."

"What?"

"It's Saturday." He pointed at the clock on the nightstand.

"So not the freaking point, Jess!"

Chuckling, he nodded, looking at her. "Yes. We're still getting married."

"You're very sure?"

"Why, you're not?"

"I am. I want to marry you." She smiled, calming down.

"Does this mean fight over?" Jess smirked, looking at her and Rory shook her head.

"No. I'm sorry, but this really isn't over yet."

"Ok." Sighing, he stood up, pouring himself a cup of cold coffee. "I…don't know, Rory."

"Have you at least thought about it?"

"Trust me, this is the only thing I've been thinking about for the past couple of hours."

"And you still have no answer?"

"How would this work?"

"How would what work?"

"All of this. Which one of us would even stay at home with this kid?"

"Is that a choice?" Rory tilted her head. "I mean…I don't think I can ever see you as a stay at home dad."

"Why?"

"Because…it's you. Rebel without a cause Jess. Not playdates and Barney on repeat all day."

"If you think I will ever be ok with our kid watching Barney, you're delusional, but I don't think that's the point." He smirked, trying to lighten the mood. "But it's an option to consider. It wouldn't hurt my job. I can do most of it from home anyway. I'd have to go in what? A day a week? And considering how much Matt has been talking about this lately, I really don't think he'd have too much of a problem with it. You've been working towards being a journalist since…"

"…Since I can remember." She finished his sentence, looking at him.

"Yeah. It's an option."

"Jess, this would be…"

"I know." He nodded, shrugging at the same time. "And I don't get why daycare is such a terrible option but if it means that much to you, we can consider it seriously."

"I overreacted." Rory admitted, smiling. "But I want us to have that option. Even if we don't take it."

"We could still swing it, even if we have to pay rent. I've been doing the math. It would be really tight, but you could take a year off or something and then reconsider this."

"Look at you, pulling a Jackson." She smiled, walking closer to him and taking his hand. "I don't get what your objection to us using that money is. I really don't."

"It's yours. You should do something fun with it."

"More fun than making sure my family has a home? Impossible."

Lifting his hand and cupping her face, Jess placed a soft kiss on her lips. "If you're really sure you'll never regret it, we can do this."

"No." She shook her head slightly, looking into his eyes. "If you're sure you'll be ok with this, that's the only requirement."

"Can we compromise on this?"

"How?"

"Put in half the money and get a mortgage for the rest. Rates would be lower than rent, you get to do what you want with your money, I get to contribute in some way."

"What about the rest?"

"Keep it for the kid's college fund?" He smirked, kissing her again. "Go to Paris, go to Fez, go anywhere. Spend it on shoes, if you want."

"And that would be ok with you?"

"That would be more ok than you doing everything."

"But still not perfectly ok?"

"It will be ok soon. Just…give me some time to get used to the idea." He nodded, kissing her again.

"Ok." Rory nodded as well. "I'll call grandma in the morning and thank her again."

"Can we go to sleep now? Or do you have anything more for us to fight over?"

"Sleep, please." She smiled, pulling him towards the bed, kicking her shoes off on the way there. Wrapping herself in the blanket, she looked at him, smiling. "I hate it when we fight."

"Really? I'm a fan." He chuckled, kissing her quickly. "Can I ask for a favor though?"

"Sure."

"Next time you decide you can't be near me, kick me out of the house instead of leaving."

"Why?"

"This is Stars Hollow. It's safe. But we might fight in Philly and I don't want to have to worry about you."

"But me worrying about you is fine?" She laughed, moving to rest on his chest while he wrapped his arms around her.

"I can take care of myself. I am not implying that you can't, but I think letting my pregnant soon to be wife walk around by herself in the middle of the night wins me about infinity jerk points."

"Is that the exact number?"

"Approximation." He chuckled, kissing the top of her head. "I love you, Ror."

"I love you too." She sighed happily, hugging him closer. "Good night.

"Night."


	28. Acting like grownups

**A/N: Sorry this chapter is late, I've been on vacation. Thank you for the reviews.**

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**Acting like grown-ups**

Monday afternoon, Rory walked in the diner, finding Jess standing on the other side of the counter, reading.

"Slaving away, I see." She smiled, leaning over the counter and giving him a quick kiss.

"Someone's got to do it. How'd it go with the dresses?"

"Picked all of them up with no problems. I have to go by Liz's place and drop Doula's flower girl dress, making sure it's to her exact specifications." She grinned and he poured her a cup of decaf coffee, smirking.

"Did she relent on looking like a circus freak?"

"Hey, be nice to your sister!" Rory smiled, trying to glare at him. "And yes, sort of."

"Do I even want to know what that means?"

"You'll see." She laughed again, picking up her mug and drinking from it. "It shouldn't take more than 10 minutes or so. Want to come along?"

"Not really, but I probably should."

"I can just tell her you were busy." She shrugged but Jess shook his head.

"I have to tell her about Jimmy coming."

"Oh, right. I forgot about that. Baby brain."

"If that's the excuse you want to stick with…" Jess smirked, making her glare at him.

"Way to be nice to your pregnant fiancée. Really."

"It's not like you're going to change your mind now. Imagine the disappointment you'd cause your grandmother."

"You kidding me? She'd throw me a party." Rory laughed, leaning over the counter and kissing him again.

"Must you do this here?" Luke sighed, appearing next to them and Jess grinned, looking at his uncle.

"We'll take it upstairs if you insist."

"Rory, should I smack him or will you?" The man smiled at her and Rory tilted her head, looking like she was weighing the options in her head.

"I'll do it." Leaning over, she slapped Jess' arm quickly, still smiling and he smirked.

"That's spousal abuse, you know."

"Not yet, we're still not married. Now go on, we have to go drop this." She pointed to the garment bag next to her.

"Where are you going?" Luke smiled, looking at the two.

"Liz's place."

"And you're going, even though you have an excuse to not go? Don't act like a grownup now, Jess, you might give me a heart attack." Luke chuckled, making Jess smirk.

"Your wife is rubbing off on you. And I need to tell her about Jimmy coming. Jeez."

"He's still coming?" Luke's smile faded and Jess just nodded, shrugging at the same time.

"Said he is."

"When does he get here?"

"Thursday."

"What, he has nothing better to do then to stay in this town for 2 extra days?" The man snorted, trying to stay calm.

"Luke…" Rory looked at him and he shook his head.

"I know, I know, your mother's drilled the fact that I have to be on my best behavior into my head."

"Good. And both Jess and I appreciate it very much."

"Yeah, yeah. Go." He pointed at the door and Rory took Jess' hand, picking up the dress from the chair again.

"We'll see you in a bit."

As soon as they were outside, Jess took the garment bag from her, making her shake her head slightly and kiss his cheek.

"Carrying a bag is not going to kill me."

"So, anything else exciting happen?" He smirked, ignoring her comment and wrapping his free arm around her waist.

"Not really. How are you feeling about Jimmy actually coming?"

"Ror, him saying he's coming doesn't mean he is. Heck, him booking a room doesn't mean he is. I'll believe it when I see it."

"But…you're ok?"

"Couldn't care less." Jess shrugged, kissing her cheek again. "Anything left on your to-do list for today?"

"A few things."

"Anything I can help with?"

"Nope."

"You sure?"

"Yes."

"Ok." He nodded, kissing her quickly before they stepped on to Liz's porch. A few seconds later, Liz appeared at the door and Rory smiled, letting go of Jess.

"The dress is here, as promised."

"Thank you so much, honey." Smiling, she let the two walk in and pointed to the living room. "Can I get you something to drink? Are you staying for a bit or do you have somewhere to be?"

"We can stay." Jess nodded, making Liz's smile grow bigger.

"I have some fresh lemonade, can I get you some?"

"Fresh lemonade sounds amazing. Where's Doula?" Rory asked, looking around her.

"Napping. She was out this morning with Lane's twins and now she's exhausted. I can wake her up if you want her to try the dress on."

"Don't worry about it, just make her put it on sometime this week and call mom if it needs any alterations."

"I will." Liz sat back down, placing a tray with three glasses and a pitcher of lemonade on the coffee table. "How are the wedding preparations coming along? Anything I can do?"

"No, we're fine." Jess glanced at Rory quickly and she nodded.

"Can't believe it's so close, though. The last month has been so crazy, I can't wait to relax for a bit."

"Ok. If you change your minds and need anything, let me know, ok?"

"We will." Rory nodded again, smiling.

"Actually, I kind of have something to tell you about the wedding. It's just to give you a heads-up, but…" Jess took a deep breath, pausing for a second. "…Jimmy said he's coming. He's booked a room at the inn and everything."

"I know." Liz shrugged, drinking from her glass. "Honey, this is Stars Hollow. You had to have known that the second he booked that room, someone was going to find out."

"Are you ok with it?" He asked again and she smiled, nodding.

"Sure. It's your wedding."

"I…uh…thanks." He smiled back, not knowing what else to say and Rory squeezed his hand again. Before anyone could say anything else, the little girl ran in the room, going straight to Jess and hugging him, making him smile uncomfortably.

"Jess! You're here!"

"We brought your dress." He tried to distract her quickly and she let go of his neck, looking at Rory.

"Really?"

"Yeah." She pointed to the garment bag next to her on the couch and the girl's face lit up again, turning to look at her mother.

"Can I try it on? Please, please, please."

"Yes." Liz nodded and the girl smiled again, clapping her hands excitedly before trying to grab the dress. When she started struggling to carry it, she looked at Rory and she nodded, standing up and picking up the bag from her.

"How about we go get you all dolled up and then we can come show them?"

Nodding enthusiastically, Doula grabbed Rory's free hand and Jess smirked as they walked past him on their way out, making Rory glare at him.

"What's with the ballerina outfit?" He chuckled when they were of the room, picking up his glass.

"She only sleeps in that. Wait until your kid is born and old enough to have an opinion, you'll be happy with them wearing something, no matter what it is, as long as it's weather appropriate. Last week, she wanted to wear the princess dress she got for Halloween everywhere."

"This is when you take pictures and torture her with them when she's a teenager. Hey, you'll need all the leverage you can get." He laughed again, leaning back on the couch. In the meantime, in the other room, Rory was trying to zip up Doula's dress.

"Rory…" The girl dragged out the word, chewing on her lip.

"Yes?"

"Is it true that you and Jess are going to have a baby?"

"Uh…" Rory stammered, chewing on her lip. "Who told you that?"

"Miss Patty asked mom about the baby. I told her you can't have a baby because you're not married, but she just laughed!"

Zipping the dress up quickly, Rory smiled. "How about we go show your mom and Jess?"

"But you didn't answer me!"

"Well, we're going to get married in a few days. We're not having a baby before we get married."

"Oh, ok." The girl grinned, satisfied with the answer and took her hand again, starting to drag her towards the living room. Breathing out relieved, Rory followed, grinning when Doula let go of her hand and started twirling around the room. Walking to Jess, she ran her fingers through his hair quickly, looking at the girl.

"What do you think?" Doula put her hands on her hips, looking from her mother to Jess.

"Stand up straight, kid." Liz smiled. "I think you're very pretty."

"It's…interesting." Jess chuckled, looking up at Rory and she glared at him. "But yes, very pretty." He smirked, making Rory shake her head.

"Now go on, let's go get you changed before you spill something on it." Liz stood up, looking at the little girl and she started pouting.

"But mom!"

"No buts."

"We're going to head out as well. Stuff to do." Jess stood up, pointing at the door.

"Ok. Just…call if you need anything, ok?"

"Yeah, we will."

A few minutes later, they were walking back to the diner.

"So that went…better than anticipated." Rory smiled, moving closer to Jess.

"I know. She's acting like a grown up. Forget Luke, I think I may have a heart attack first if she doesn't stop."

Slapping his arm, she looked at him, tilting her head to the side.

"Sorry, force of habit." Jess lifted his hands in the air, leaning over and kissing her quickly.

"Think Jimmy will do the same, if he really does come?"

"I hope so. If he doesn't, then I'm not going to be the one stopping Luke from doing whatever he wants."

"And you'll…"

"I'll be ok. It's not like I care that much what he does or doesn't do." Jess kissed her temple, smirking.

* * *

The next evening, everyone was gathered in the Gilmore house, rounded in the living room around the tree. Walking into the kitchen, Rory smiled and hugged Jess, who was standing next to one of the counters.

"You know they're all asking where you are."

"Figured you could cover for me for a bit." He smirked, kissing her. "Liz was talking at me again, I had to get out of there."

"At or to you?"

"Well, I wasn't listening." He chuckled. "Conserving my energy for Saturday."

"You'll be nice, right?"

"Since I do have every intention of enjoying the wedding night, I'll be a good boy all day." Jess smirked again, making her laugh.

"Your mind only works in that direction, doesn't it?"

"Not exclusively, but you should agree that some enjoyment should happen that night."

"What if I'm sick again?" She suddenly looked worried, her smile fading and Jess hugged her closer to him.

"Then I'll enjoy holding your hair." He whispered, kissing her temple. "It's not like I haven't seen it all before." He chuckled and Rory lifted her head, placing a quick kiss on his lips.

"I'm pretty sure you seeing it before is what got us here anyway." She laughed. "Now come on, they were about to open presents in the other room. You can think of ways of having fun on our wedding night later."

"Can I get a preview instead later?"

Shaking her head, Rory snickered, taking his hand and dragging him after her in the living room. As soon as they were back, Lorelai smiled, looking at them.

"You found him."

"I was off looking for Narnia." Jess smirked, sitting down in an armchair and Rory sat on the arm, her arm around his shoulders.

"Presents!"

"These are yours. Dig in!" Lorelai pointed to a pile. "Jess, yours." She pointed to another one.

"You went all crazy again."

"Someone's got to." Lorelai grinned, picking up a box and handing it to her daughter.

A couple of hours later, after almost everyone had left, Rory crashed on the couch, breathing deeply. "Your Christmas party gets better every year."

"You're only saying that because you love me."

"Maybe." Rory smiled, looking at Lorelai. "What's with those boxes? Were we missing someone tonight?"

"Uh…not really."

"Then?"

"It's my duty!"

"What?" Rory looked at her mother confused as Jess walked back in the room, wiping his hands on his jeans.

"Dishes clean. Can we head back now?"

"Not yet, mom was just about to explain what sort of duty involves a lot of presents."

"You got it something first, now I can start!"

Blinking a few times, Rory grinned, looking from the presents to her mother.

"You mean…"

"It's my first grandkid, I wanted to celebrate its sort of first Christmas properly."

"I…" Rory hesitated for a second, before jumping from her place and hugging her mother as hard as she could. "Thank you."

"I may have gone a bit overboard." Lorelai smiled as well, hugging her back.

"But, you did all this, even though you've been doing so much for the wedding and I just…thank you."

"Stop thanking me and open them!"

Standing up and wiping her eyes quickly, Rory sat on the floor, picking up one of the boxes while Jess sat down in the armchair, both him and Lorelai watching her. Opening the box, she started laughing when she saw the tiny leather jacket, shaking her head.

"You're crazy."

"It's adorable."

"Where did you find one this small?"

"I have superpowers." Lorelai grinned and Rory held up the jacket, showing it to Jess.

"Look how cute it is."

"Just precious." He smirked and she threw some paper at him, laughing.

"Jess, I swear to God…"

"It's very cute." He shook his head, still smirking. "Thanks." He nodded in Lorelai's direction and she grinned.

"No need to thank me, just doing my job."

* * *

Later that night, after they dragged everything inside the upstairs apartment, Rory walked out of the shower, finding Jess lying in bed, looking at the pile of presents. Curling up next to him, she kissed his chest.

"We're never going to have to buy anything for that child if your mother keeps doing this."

"She wanted to do something nice."

"I know." He kissed the top of her head, smiling. "Now that Christmas's done, the wedding is really the next step."

"Unless one of us decides not to go through with it and run to Venezuela instead."

"Don't think so. I heard it's terrible there this time of year."

"Is it normal to not be scared?" She looked up at him, still smiling. "I mean this is this huge thing and I just…I'm not scared."

"It's not that huge. It's a piece of paper."

"It's a complete change in status. And name. I go from Miss Gilmore to Mrs. Mariano in 4 days."

"You're still convinced you want to change your name, I see."

"We're not going over this again. I want to. We're going to fight and I'm too tired for that."

"No fighting." He shook his head, placing a soft kiss on her lips. "Whatever you're happy with."

"Having two middle names seems like a fair compromise. And this way, I get to have the same name as the kid."

"We can call it Gilmore. I don't care."

"No. I want a family for this kid, as traditional as it can be when it comes to us."

"This is only the start of you winning very fight, isn't it?"

"Oh, please, I was already winning every fight." Rory laughed.

"I know." He sighed dramatically.

"I'm sure I can think of some way to make it up to you."

"It will take some work." Jess smirked, looking at her.

"I'm not worried." She grinned, leaning over to him and kissing him.

"Is this my preview?"

"In Luke's apartment? Nope. Small taste, mister."

"I'll settle for that." Turning off the light, he laid down and she took her place on his chest, smiling when he wrapped his arm around her. "One last Christmas present."

"You already gave me a present."

"Yes. But this one you'll have to check out tomorrow or something."

"What is it?"

"When you were out shopping with Lorelai today, I bookmarked some houses for you to look at and then maybe go check out after the honeymoon."

"Seriously?"

"Figured it was about time we did something on that front. You can dismiss all of them if you want."

"I'll look at them tomorrow. I love you."

"I know."

"Good night."

"Night."


	29. The Prodigal Father Returns

**A/N: Thank you for the reviews. Opinions on this chapter would be greatly appreciated, since I'm extremely nervous about trying my hand at writing Jimmy.**

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**The Prodigal Father Returns**

Wednesday night, Rory walked into the upstairs apartment, holding a cup of take-away coffee in her hand.

"Wedding crisis averted."

"What happened?" Jess looked up at her from his book.

"Small problem with the flowers, all fixed." She smiled, sitting down on the bed next to him. "Why are you all dressed and showered and stuff?"

"I tend to be dressed and showered every day. You might have noticed in the past." He smirked and she slapped his arm playfully, kissing the spot quickly.

"Yes, but you're not usually freshly showered at…almost 7." She glanced at the clock on the night stand. "And on that note, when did it get so late?"

"I'm going to guess somewhere in between you running around like a maniac, leaving me here with nothing to do because you and your mother decided that I'm useless in this wedding, since I'm the guy. A decision I full heartedly support, for the record. And I'm clean because my freaking bachelor party is tonight."

"Wasn't it supposed to be tomorrow night, like mine?"

"Ror, who gets here tomorrow?"

"Uh…" She hesitated for a second before she remembered, looking at him. "Jimmy!"

"Yes. I have no intentions of having him along and not inviting him would be…weird I guess, if he were here. Not to mention the Luke being there thing. So we're doing this tonight to avoid having to invite him."

"Wise."

"Yeah, it happens sometimes." Standing up, he ran his hand through his hair, looking at the door. "I should get going."

"Have fun."

"Sure." He replied sarcastically, smirking.

"Hey, this is your last chance to get drunk as a single man. I suggest you take it."

"What about strippers?" He grinned at her, making her laugh.

"Sure, if you can find a strip club in Stars Hollow, go ahead."

"No need to crush my dreams." Leaning over and placing a quick kiss on her lips, he smiled. "I'll see you later."

* * *

The next morning, Jess walked downstairs in the diner, finding Rory and Lorelai sitting at a table, with Will in a high chair next to them, having breakfast. After pouring some coffee in a take-away cup behind the counter, he sat down.

"He's awake." Lorelai snickered. "How was your party?" She dragged out the words, keeping her voice as loud as she could.

"Fine, thanks." Jess smirked back.

"Damn it, why are you not hung over?" She started speaking normally again, looking deflated by his lack of reaction.

"Water. It's magic, I tell you. Magic." Leaning over to Rory, he kissed her cheek. "I'm off to the airport. Want to come or do you have something planned?"

"Sorry, hoodlum, part one of bachelorette party is bound to begin very soon." Lorelai chimed in, shaking her head. "You're not taking her anywhere."

"Is there at least someone working at the inn to check Jimmy in or is it DYI now?"

"Michel is there in all his grumpy glory. And I'm sure half the town will be accidentally dropping by today."

"Don't bring him here, Luke's been on a rampage all morning." Rory warned, looking over to the counter to make sure the man couldn't hear her.

"'Cause that's unusual." Jess chuckled, squeezing her hand under the table. "I wasn't planning to, anyway. I'll pick him up, drop him off then find something else to do."

"Good plan."

Standing up again, he picked up his cup. "I'm off. Lorelai, I like her in one piece, make sure she stays that way."

"I'll do my best." Lorelai nodded solemnly, grinning. "However, I am not in any way responsible for any damages that may occur."

"Suppose that's good enough."

"Hey!" Rory protested, trying not to laugh. "You're both so nice to me."

"We try." Jess chuckled, kissing the top of her head. "Have fun."

As soon as he was out the door, Lorelai leaned over closer to Rory, making sure no one was around.

"How's he really doing with the Jimmy thing? He seems…surprisingly calm."

"He is. Most of the time anyway." Rory shrugged, drinking from her mug.

* * *

_The previous night, after the party. _

_Crawling into bed, Jess sighed, taking off his shoes with his feet. Rory watched him, smiling, then stood up and filled a glass with water, handing it to him. _

"_Here."_

"_Thanks." He grumbled gratefully, chugging the water down._

"_How was it?"_

"_We drank, we talked, Luke made a charming attempt at asking me if I needed someone to talk to which I quickly shot down-I think he was more relieved than I was. About it." _

"_Fun?"_

"_Yeah." He nodded, smirking as Rory sat down next to him after filling his glass again. "Exhausted though. I'm too old for this." _

_Leaning over and turning off the bedside lamp, Rory placed a quick kiss on his lips, smiling in the dark. "Good night."_

"_I love you."_

"_Love you too." _

_Taking his phone out of his pocket, he started setting an alarm and she looked at him, surprised._

"_Anything important that you need to be awake for?"_

"_I told Jimmy I'd pick him up from the airport. If he actually got on the plane, that is."_

"_I'm sure he'll be here."_

"_That makes one of us."_

"_Would it matter if he wouldn't be?" She asked him after a few seconds of silence, biting her lip._

"_Yeah…it would." _

* * *

"Wait, so Jess actually sort of admitted that he wants Jimmy here?"

"Don't get me wrong, I think he'd be ok either way, but this is the first time Jimmy's actually promised him something. Him not showing up wouldn't bode well for any sort of future relationship. Jess can hold a grudge."

"Can't say I'd blame him."

"How's Luke doing?"

"He's been…not talking about it." Lorelai shrugged, looking for her husband. "I tried to, he shot it down. He did promise he'll be on his best behavior when Jimmy's actually here, but I don't think he'll be happy."

"Ever wish our lives were normal?" Rory laughed, making her mother smile as well.

"Eh, from time to time. But then I come back to my senses."

"It would make things a whole of a lot easier."

"But so much less fun." Standing up, Lorelai picked up Will, walking to Luke. "The babysitter will be here in a bit to take him, you're in charge until then. We're off to party."

"Have fun." Luke leaned over, giving his wife a quick kiss before picking up their son. Walking back to the table, Lorelai grabbed her purse, looking at her daughter.

"Time to get incredibly pampered."

"Here, here!"

* * *

A bit later, at the airport. Walking out of the arrivals area, Jimmy looked around him, holding a small duffel bag in one hand and a suit bag in the other. Spotting Jess, he headed towards him, both men looking at each other slightly apprehensively.

"You're earlier than I thought you'd be." Jess shrugged, shoving his hands deeper in his pockets.

"Landed early." The other man shrugged as well.

"Good flight?"

"It was ok. I don't think I'll ever get used to flying, though. Give me a fast car and some music and I'll be much happier getting from point A to B." After pausing for a second, the man took a deep breath. "It's good to see you, Jess. You look…uh, good."

"Yeah, you too." He sighed, even more uncomfortable.

"See you've retired the leather jacket." The man pointed out, making Jess smirk.

"See you haven't." He pointed out.

"This was the only thing I had that could sort of pass for winter wear. Not much use for winter clothes in California."

"Mine's not completely retired either, just in the process of trying to find a new one. The old one looks like it's been through a few wars." Jess chuckled, relaxing slightly. Looking around him, he took out his keys. "Want to head back?"

"Sure." Jimmy nodded. "Where are you parked?"

"This way." Jess pointed with his head and the man started following him. "How are Sasha and Lily?"

"Good. Both send their love. Lily gave me a present for you and everything."

"Let me guess, a book?"

"What can I say, you made an impression. She's looking at colleges now. Probably going to head this way next year."

"Really?"

"She claims California's too sunny."

"I can see where she's coming from." Jess chuckled, stopping in front of the paying machine.

"I can get that." Jimmy pointed to the machine but Jess shook his head.

"It's fine. I'm better off than I was last time you saw me." He paid quickly, trying to avoid any more offers from Jimmy before heading for his car. After throwing the bags in the trunk, they got in the car, driving off.

"So, when do I get to meet this girl you're marrying?"

"Not sure. She's off with her mother for a bachelorette party thing."

"Her mother is Luke's wife, right?"

"Yeah. Lorelai."

"And Stars Hollow's just as crazy as it used to be?"

"Worse." Jess chuckled.

"How'd you deal with it?"

"Rory likes it so I put up with it. I mostly hide, though." He admitted honestly, chuckling. "I'm supposed to meet her for coffee later today at the inn, while Lorelai checks up on things. You can join us if you want to."

"I'd like that."

* * *

Later that afternoon, Jess walked back in the lobby of the inn, after having spent a few hours in the diner, finding Rory already there, reading a book.

"How was your morning?" He asked, sitting next to her and kissing her cheek quickly.

"Awesome. I need to spend more time in spas." She grinned, extending her hand so he could see her fingernails. "Pretty, right?"

"Sure." Jess shrugged, smirking. "I'm sure this falls into the category of conversations that should have been had more than 2 days before the wedding, but do you want to meet Jimmy? I told him he could join us for coffee. If it's ok with you." He added quickly, looking at her and Rory smiled, nodding.

"Better now than meeting my father-in-law at the wedding."

"How about we just refer to him as Jimmy?" Jess chuckled, standing up and taking her hand after she dropped her book back in her purse.

"But I like annoying you. You're cute when you're angry."

"Cute, huh?" His smirk grew bigger as he pulled her against his body, kissing her.

"Very." Rory smiled back at him, placing another kiss on his lips before moving away. "Ok, where are we meeting him?"

"Dining room."

A few seconds later, they both walked in the dining room, Rory squeezing Jess' hand tightly and he leaned over closer to her, whispering "Don't be nervous." in her ear.

Turning to him, she smiled gratefully, biting her lip. "How'd you know?"

"Wild guess." He smiled back, heading towards the table where the older man was already sitting, his back turned to them. Walking around the table, Jess nodded as a greeting while Jimmy stood up, smiling.

"Rory, this is Jimmy. Jimmy, Rory." He introduced the two quickly, not knowing what more to say.

"Nice to finally meet you." Jimmy smiled, shaking her hand and she smiled back at him.

"Nice to meet you too."

After a few seconds of awkwardly standing around, Jimmy finally shook his head, chuckling.

"I think this is about the time when we all sit down, instead of looking like idiots."

"Couldn't agree more." Rory smiled, sitting down and the two men followed her example. After ordering more coffee and some sandwiches, they all looked at each other, not knowing what to say.

"So…" Jimmy dragged out the word, looking for something to say while running a hand through his hair. "Excited about the wedding?"

"Yeah." The younger couple nodded quickly, ready for the same conversation they'd had about a million times in the last couple of weeks. "Can't wait for it to be done, though." Rory added smiling.

"Yes, a week away from the crazies here sounds great."

"Honeymoon?" Jimmy asked and Jess nodded in reply. "Where are you going?"

"New York." Jess answered again, resting his hand on Rory's leg under the table. "I tried telling her there's nothing exciting about it, but she wouldn't relent."

"Seriously? You want to have this conversation again?" She sighed dramatically, making him shake his head and smirk.

"I'm good."

"New York is a great place, I'm sure you'll have fun." Jimmy added, smiling. "Can I ask a question?" He asked after a few more seconds of silence.

"Sure." Rory smiled, trying to make the man relax.

"Why has everyone been staring at me all day?"

Laughing, she shook her head. "Sorry about that. You're big news around here."

"Why?"

"They have nothing better to do." Jess shrugged. Before anyone could say anything more, Jimmy's phone started ringing and he pulled it out of his pocket, an apologetic smile on his face.

"Sorry, I have to take this. Work."

"Sure." Rory smiled, nodding and the man stood up, stepping in the library. "He seems nice." She leaned over and kissed Jess' cheek and he shrugged.

"He's not bad."

"You ok?"

"Yeah." He kissed her, cupping her face in his hand and smiling.

"Guys, public." Lorelai grimaced, sitting across from them, not noticing the other man's cup.

"Sorry." Blushing, Rory pulled back and Jess smirked.

"You here to butt in?"

"Butt in in…what?" Lorelai looked at him, confused.

"Jimmy?" Jess sighed, trying not to get annoyed.

"Nope, just here to tell Rory Lane called and the kids have been dropped off at Mrs. Kim's place, so we can go if she's done. And what's this about Jimmy?"

"Sorry about that." The man appeared at the table again, noticing Lorelai sitting there and she snickered, standing up.

"Get it now. Sorry to have interrupted."

"Lorelai, Jimmy." Jess introduced the two, running a hand through his hair.

"Nice to meet you. I'm Rory's mom." Lorelai smiled, shaking the man's hand.

"Yeah, nice to meet you too. Are you joining us for coffee?"

"Nope, just here to tell Rory something. I'll be in my office when you're done, sweets."

"Lorelai, you can stay." Jess offered but she shook her head.

"Take your time." Leaving the three alone again, she headed towards the kitchen.

"Rory, if you have somewhere to go…" Jimmy trailed off and she shook her head.

"It can wait."

Half an hour and some more slightly awkward small talk later, Rory stood up, looking at the clock on the wall.

"I should get going. It was really nice meeting you." She smiled at Jimmy, then leaned over to Jess, kissing his cheek quickly. "I'll probably be very, very late tonight. Entertain yourself."

"I'll try." He smirked, running his hand down her leg and kissing her quickly before she left the room, waving goodbye again.

After being silent for a few seconds, Jimmy looked at Jess, smirking. "I can see why you were pining after her that summer."

* * *

_Many years before, a quiet summer night in California. Stepping out in the yard, Jimmy sat next to Jess on the bench, pointing at his cigarette._

"_You still haven't quit."_

"_What, you have nothing better to do than to try your hand at fatherhood now?"_

"_You said you would."_

"_Give me a fucking break, will you?" Jess snapped, taking another drag out of his cigarette. Grabbing one out of the pack and lighting it, Jimmy took in the smoke, leaning back against the bench._

"_Still the best thing in the world."_

"_Didn't know you…"_

"_I don't. Quit about 5 years ago."_

"_Really? 'Cause it seems to me like you're doing a shit job at it."_

"_Don't tell Sasha." Jimmy shrugged, watching his son. They sat like that for a few minutes, both smoking quietly, Jess looking away. "__What's her name?" He broke the silence again and Jess turned his head._

"_What?"_

"_The girl."_

"_There's no girl."_

"_Why?"_

"_I fucked it up."_

"_How?"_

"_Well, I'm here. Draw your own conclusions." Jess sighed, frustrated, lighting another cigarette. Not saying anything, Jimmy just looked at him, waiting to see if he had anything more to say. After another long pause, Jess took a deep breath, whispering without looking at the man. "Rory."_

"_What?"_

"_Her name. Rory." _

* * *

"I wasn't pining." Jess chuckled, shaking his head.

"Sure." He drew at the word, still smirking and Jess shook his head. "She's nice."

"She's the best thing that's ever happened to me." Jess admitted honestly, before shaking his head and finishing his coffee. "I should let you get some sleep or something."

"I'm fine." Jimmy brushed it off. "But you can go if you have something to do."

"Not really." Jess smirked, leaning back further in his chair. "What colleges is Lily looking at?"

* * *

The next morning, Rory woke up to Jess sitting back on the bed, placing a cup of coffee on the bedside table. Leaning down and kissing her, he smiled.

"Good morning. How was the party?"

"Too much food. Never again." She laughed, sitting up on the bed. "What's the time?"

"Almost 10.

"Seriously?"

"You got in late last night." He shrugged. "Figured I'd let you sleep in."

"Thanks." She picked up the mug, but quickly lowered it again, looking into his eyes. "Hey…I'm feeling half decent today."

"No more nausea?"

"A bit, but not as bad as it used to be." She shook her head and he smiled, kissing her temple.

"Good. About time that happened."

"We don't have much time before I have to go away for the day."

"So…you're suggesting we skip breakfast and just get naked?" He chuckled, making Rory glare at him.

"Pig."

"I try. I still don't get why you're insisting on doing this. It's not like I can knock you up today or something."

"It's tradition. Get over it." Drinking from her mug, she put it back on the table. "How did it go with Jimmy?"

"Good."

Smiling, she ran her fingers through his hair. "Any more details than that?"

"We talked. Nothing important. It was just…good."

"I'm happy for you."

"Ror, this doesn't mean much."

"I know." She shook her head, moving closer to him and placing a soft kiss on his lips, smiling. "But it's a step ahead. It could turn out alright."

"You still want him in the kid's life?" He ran his fingers across her small bump.

"If you do. This is your choice."

"I'm…willing to give it a try. If he is as well."

"He's here. I think that means he wants to."

"Or he had nothing better to do." Jess chuckled, standing up and taking her hand, pulling her out of bed. "Go on, breakfast and then you can tell me where I'm allowed to be today, so I don't accidentally see you and some unspeakable horror happens."

"Zombie apocalypse."

"What?"

"I've decided that's what happens if you see me after 12 today."

"Sure." He drew out the word, chuckling.

"You're a lot like him, you know." She looked at him, wrapping her arms around his waist. "Only cuter." She laughed, kissing him.

"I'm not…"

"Not the bad things." She cut him off, smiling and hugging him closer. "But there's something…I don't know, he reminds me of you. You have the same smirk." She shrugged, kissing him again.

Shaking his head and chuckling, Jess pointed to the table. "Go on. Food."

"Yes!" She clapped her hands excitedly, dragging him towards the table. After they finished eating, Rory stood up, walking to him and sitting in his lap, his arms wrapped tightly around her waist.

"Where are you going to be today?"

"Where do you want me?"

"Either up here or the inn, but tell me where so I know."

"I'll call you when I go to the inn, ok?"

Nodding, she kissed him, smiling. "I can't believe the next time I'll see you will be at the wedding. Our wedding."

"No running away?" He looked into her eyes and she laughed.

"No running away." She repeated his words, standing up again. "I should get going."

Taking her hand and pulling back closer to him, Jess placed a soft kiss on her bump. "You be nice to your mom tomorrow and not mess this up, okay, kid?"

"What, you think he'll listen?"

"If it doesn't, I'm grounding it for life." Jess laughed, looking up at her. "Take care of yourself."

"Jess, it's 24 hours."

"I don't care. Just trying to make sure you know I want you in one piece tomorrow."

"I'll be in one piece. Don't let Matt and Chris convince you you need to go drinking again."

"A couple of drinks won't kill me."

"I'm the only one that's allowed to be sick tomorrow."

"You're not allowed to be sick either." He shook his head, standing up and kissing her. "See you at our wedding."

"See you then." Rory smiled, kissing him one more time before heading for the door. Turning around, she smiled. "Vows done?"

"Uh…" He smirked, shaking his head. "Sorry."

"Shocking." Rory laughed, opening the door. "If they're nicer than mine, I'll be very upset."

"No, you won't be."

"I'll try to be, is that better?"

"Maybe. Go." Jess chuckled again and she nodded.

"Love you."

"Love you too."

As soon as she walked outside, Jess sat down on the couch, pulling his notebook out again, trying to focus on the white piece of paper in front of him.


	30. Beginning of forever

**A/N: I pretty much started writing this intent on getting the actual wedding in one chapter. And then it reached 5000 words(and still not done) and I figured that may be a bit excessive, so this is a two-parter, with the next part coming in the next few days. I hope you have as much fun reading it as I had writing it.**

**

* * *

**

** Beginning of forever**

Very late Friday night, Rory opened the door to her room at the inn, finding her mother standing on the other side, a basket in her hand.

"Happy wedding day, little girl." Lorelai smiled, walking in the room and closing the door behind her. "I come bringing chocolate and food and some sparkly apple juice to celebrate since I can't bring you champagne and I just…you're getting married."

"I know." Rory sighed happily, sitting on the bed, pulling her knees up to her chest. Grabbing two glasses from the basket and filling them, Lorelai handed her one before sitting down as well, a giant smile on her face.

"How do you feel?"

"Excited." Rory grinned, sipping from her glass. "I still can't believe I get to marry Jess in a few hours."

"Unless you're deciding this is not for you and you're running away. The horses are in the stables." Lorelai joked, laughing.

"Mom, I'm scared of horses. And no matter how much I love you, I am not following in your steps for everything."

"Hey, I want it to be noted that I was there for my other two weddings. So two out of three isn't that bad."

"I don't think your wedding to dad should count, since that wasn't planned. So I'd say you're at 50%, really."

"Whatever." Lorelai laughed, drinking from her glass. "God, I just can't believe this is the way it worked out."

"What?" Rory smiled.

"You and Jess. Someone go back to the time you guys were first dating and tell me it will go like this. It would have saved me a lot of trouble. And a few wrinkles. Seriously, he's to blame if I ever decide I need Botox." She laughed again, picking up some chocolate and taking a bite.

"Oh, please it would be just as good to go back in time about 5 years and tell you it will be ok. Because you didn't take well the fact that we were dating again." Rory chuckled, remembering her mother's reaction.

"No, I didn't take well my daughter and her new cousin sleeping together. It took a while for dating to be mentioned."

* * *

_Five years before_

_Walking into the inn's dining room, Rory saw Lorelai sitting at a table, talking to Sookie. Walking to her, she leaned over, whispering in her ear._

"_I need to talk to you. Now. Please."_

_Nodding and excusing herself, Lorelai walked to her office with Rory following closely behind. _

"_What's wrong?"_

"_I need you to promise you won't get mad at me."_

"_Why would I get mad?"_

_Cringing, Rory looked at her mother. "Because I think I may have done something stupid and I'm not sure how to handle it."_

"_How stupid?"_

"_Stupid." Collapsing in an armchair and hiding her face in her hands, Rory closed her eyes. "I may have slept with someone last night." _

"_Someone?" Lorelai sat down in another chair, taking a deep breath, trying to run all the possibilities in her head._

"_Yeah. But you have to promise that you'll hold off having an opinion on this and give me advice on how to handle it first."_

"_Ok, what's with all the warnings? Because I really can't think of any…" Stopping mid-sentence, she looked at Rory again. "It's not someone who's married again, is it?"_

"_No. Definitely not married." Rory shook her head._

"_Then that doesn't leave us with many options. Unless we're talking…" She trailed off again and Rory nodded._

"_Yeah."_

"_No." Lorelai shook her head. "You didn't sleep with him. Not him, Rory."_

"_Don't be mad, please. I need you to be my best friend right now, not my mother who still hates him for something that happened years ago."_

"_You decide to jump in bed with Jess, after everything that happened between you two, and expect me not to get mad? Ha!" _

"_A very long time ago." _

"_I don't care." Lorelai started pacing around the room, her arms crossed across her chest. "You can forgive him, that's fine, I don't care. But as your mother, it's my right to hate him for being a jerk to you."_

"_Fine, be angry with him, hate him, whatever. But please tell me what to do now, because I don't have a freaking clue." Rory pleaded, looking at her. "Please."_

_Taking a deep breath and pulling a chair closer to Rory's, Lorelai sat down._

"_Ok. What happened?"_

"_After the party was over…we got drunk. Very drunk apparently. And, I don't know, stuff happened."_

"_So you had a drunken one night stand with your cousin?" Lorelai snickered, suddenly more relaxed._

"_Don't call him that."_

"_Well, technically…"_

"_I don't care. Just…this is embarrassing enough as it is, can you not make it any worse?" Rory laughed, blushing at the same time. _

"_Did something happen after…stuff?"_

"_He brought me coffee this morning." She smiled softly, staring at a point on the carpet. "And we went for breakfast. And talked. Not about anything, just…catching up. Talked." She tried to explain, her smile growing bigger._

"_What does this mean?"_

"_I don't know." Rory shrugged. "Hence why I needed to talk to you. He's upstairs now, dealing with work stuff and I'm going to see him again in about 10 minutes and I don't know what to do."_

"_Do you want to date him?" _

"_I…don't know." Rory shrugged. _

"_Ok, that was the point where you were supposed to say 'no' in a very convincing tone."_

"_I don't know what I want. Or what he wants. And I can't want it by myself. Even if he wants it, I don't see how we could do it."_

"_Hon, your job isn't going to last forever. 9 months isn't such an impossible amount of time to be apart, if you guys do decide to go this way."_

"_So would this mean you'd be ok with us hypothetically giving it a try?"_

"_This means I am…being your friend. That's it." Lorelai sighed._

_Shaking her head, Rory took a deep breath. "I'm being stupid anyway. He probably thinks it was just a one night thing and I am overthinking this."_

"_Talk to him. That's as much as I can tell you. Just…wait for him to come downstairs and talk to him. See what he thinks about it and take it from there."_

* * *

In the meantime, in another part of the building. Throwing himself on the couch in the library, next to Jess, Matt smiled.

"What's wrong?"

"Vows." Jess sighed, shaking his head. "I just…can't get them right."

"Seriously?" He chuckled, looking at his friend. "You're a writer, you know that right?"

"Why, gee, thanks for reminding me. 'Cause that's going to help." He laughed as well, twirling the pencil between his fingers.

"Stop focusing on getting it right and just write what you feel. Take it from there. Write everything, edit the hell out of it, then see what that leaves you it. Just like writing everything else." Standing up, the young man smiled. "I'll leave you to it. I'm supposed to call Jane soon."

"Isn't it too late?"

"She's been at work tonight." Matt shrugged, taking his phone out of his pocket. "Good luck with that."

* * *

_Later that day. Walking back downstairs, Jess ran a hand through his hair before sitting down at random table, trying not to attract too much attention to himself. Walking back in the room, Rory flashed him a small smile as she walked past him, making him smirk back. As soon as she saw Lorelai, Emily jumped from her seat, walking to her daughter and starting to talk to her about something, leaving Rory alone. She stood around the room, talking to her grandfather when she felt someone's hand brush past hers and turned around, seeing Jess smirk, standing in the doorway. Quickly excusing herself, she walked after him, finding him leaning against the wall. Without giving her time to think, he took her hand and dragged her in the empty kitchen, backing them against a wall and kissed her, his hands pinning her down._

"_Sorry. Just felt like doing that." He shrugged when he pulled back._

"_It's…uh…it's ok." She mumbled when she caught her breath, making his smirk grow bigger._

"_Good to know." He kissed her again, lifting one hand to play in her hair. Hearing someone's steps, he quickly pulled back, walking to the coffee machine and pouring himself some coffee while one of the waiters picked something up before walking out again._

"_What, you're only going to be near me if there's no one else in the room? Or do…that, for that matter only if we're alone?"_

"_Didn't think you'd want to risk someone seeing us. You didn't seem too keen on being near me in Weston's earlier."_

"_I was still thinking."_

"_And now you're done thinking?" He chuckled, handing her a coffee cup and she pointed to the door._

"_Mind if we do this somewhere else? Someone might come here again."_

"_Sure."_

_A few minutes later, they were upstairs in her room and he grinned, seeing the bridesmaid dress hanging on the door. _

"_You looked very good in that dress."_

_Smiling and blushing softly, she pushed a strand of hair behind her ear. "Can you not flirt with me for a second and just…be serious while we talk about this?"_

"_Talk about what?"_

"_Last night. You kissing me. All of this."_

"_Is there something to talk about?"_

"_You don't think there is?" Her smile faded and he walked to her, putting his mug down on a table and cupping her face in his hand. _

"_We can talk."_

"_Jess, if this was just a one night stand for you, it's fine. Really is. But if that's all there was, you have to stop acting like this because I don't know what I want and you doing this is unfair. You're making me think you want more."_

"_Who says I don't want more?" He whispered after a long time, making her bite her lip._

"_Don't do this." She shook her head, pulling away from him and stepping away from him._

"_Rory, I don't know what you want me to say or do. It's ok. We can just leave it as a one night stand. Trust me, I'm not going to cry myself to sleep or anything."_

"_Can I ask a hypothetical question?"_

"_Sure."_

"_If I didn't want to leave it at this…how would that work? I'm going to be at this job for the next 9 months. That's a long time."_

"_Well, hypothetically speaking…" He tried not to laugh, looking at her. "…I suppose we could always just, I don't know, talk on the phone. Email, stuff like that. See each other if you're ever in Philadelphia. Maybe I could drive over if you're within driving distance."_

"_And when my job ends?"_

"_That's your call. But, still hypothetically, of course, if you're close enough, we could see each other at weekends. It would work for a while."_

"_And you'd be willing to do that?" She smiled softly, stepping closer to him. _

"_I'm not promising it would work indefinitely, but…I'd be willing to give it a try." His voice lost its playful tone as he took another step towards her._

"_Don't say that if you don't really mean it." Lowering her eyes, she took his hand in hers, running her thumb over his skin._

"_I mean it."_

"_Are you sure?"_

"_Ror, we've never had good timing. This is probably about as good as we're ever going to get. And if we both want this, there's no good reason why we couldn't at least try."_

"_You don't have to be just with me, ok?" She looked at him, chewing on her lip. "We're most likely going to be apart for months at a time until November. If you want to sleep with someone else, you can."_

"_I'm sure those details can be arranged at a later date." He chuckled softly, closing in on her and kissed her, his free hand playing in her hair._

"_So, we're really giving it a try?"_

"_Wait, wasn't that conversation hypothetical?" He chuckled and she kissed him, laughing as well. _

"_Jess…"_

"_We're really giving a try."_

* * *

Back in Rory's room.

"This was how it was always supposed to be." Rory smiled, leaning against the headboard of the bed. "Don't get me wrong, I like the way we got here-we both had time to make mistakes and be stupid, but…he was always supposed to be the one. Although a bit less heartbreak in between would have been better."

"He's a good guy, Rory. He really is."

"I know." Rory smiled softly, eating some chocolate. "And I get to marry him tomorrow. Grow old with him, have his kids…they're actually happening. Well, at least the kid bit is." She grinned, her hand playing on her abdomen.

"I'm so happy for you, kid." Lorelai grinned, jumping from her place and hugging her daughter.

"Thanks." She wiped her eyes quickly before letting go.

"Now go on, sleep time. You have to be pretty tomorrow."

"Are you implying that I'm not usually pretty?" Rory laughed.

"No, I'm implying that if we don't stop this conversation soon I'll start bawling at the thought of you getting married and I am trying to not let that happen. So sleep." Lorelai smiled back, standing up. "Enjoy your last night as a single woman, ok?"

"Will do." Rory grinned from her bed as Lorelai left the room again.

* * *

The next morning, Lorelai walked in Rory's room, holding a cup of coffee.

"I bring coffee. Lane is on her way and Paris said she'll be here as soon as she's done talking to her mother."

"How was that going?"

"Yelling was involved."

"Have you seen Jess?" Rory bit her lip, looking at Lorelai.

"He was downstairs, getting coffee."

"How is he?"

"Looking good."

"Nervous?"

"Not as far as I could tell, but…he's Jess. Only you can tell."

Smiling, Rory nodded, sipping from her coffee. "I'm excited."

"Not nervous?"

"A bit. Good nervous, though."

"Go on then, let's get you pretty. The photographer is on his way as well."

In the meantime, downstairs. Walking outside, Jimmy spotted Jess leaning against the railing, a cup of coffee in his hand.

"How are you doing?"

"Not bad." Jess smirked, drinking from his cup.

"Holding up ok?"

"Pretty much."

"So…excited?" Jimmy asked after a few seconds of silence.

"Yeah." Jess nodded, drinking from his mug. "Finally finished writing my vows. I'm about 3 hours ahead of schedule."

"You're writing your own?"

"Rory's idea."

"How'd it go?"

"Hit a snag last night." Jess chuckled. "On second thought, maybe leaving them for the night before wasn't the best idea."

Not knowing what more to say, Jimmy just shoved his hands deeper in his pockets, looking at Jess, who remained equally silent. Almost a minute later, Luke appeared in the door. Seeing Jimmy, he started glaring at him, making the man shake his head slowly.

"Hey, Luke." Jess greeted, amused by the interaction between the two.

"Morning." Luke grumbled, looking at the other man. "Jimmy."

"Luke."

"Great, you still recognize each other." Jess chuckled, drinking from his mug.

"I'll be inside." Jimmy muttered, walking back inside the inn, leaving the other two men alone.

"That went great." Jess laughed again, shaking his head. "Where's Will?"

"April's with him. She was very excited to see him again. So…did I interrupt something?"

"Nope. Just awkward standing around, not knowing what to say." He smirked, looking at his uncle. "How's it going inside?"

"Got kicked out by some guy trying to arrange chairs around the room. How do you feel?" He looked at Jess and he shrugged.

"I'm good."

"You sure?"

"Yeah." The young man nodded again, drinking from his cup.

"Jess…?" Luke looked at him again after a few seconds of silence.

"Huh?"

"I'm happy for you. You and Rory are good together. And you…? You've grown up to be a really good man. I'm proud of you." He lowered his voice slightly, making Jess smile.

"Thanks. For saying that. And for all the help."

"You don't have anything to thank me for." Luke smiled again, hugging the young man quickly.

"I should head back inside. Shower and stuff." Jess smirked, looking at the door.

"Yeah. I'll be around if you need anything."

* * *

Back in Rory's room.

Fixing the strap to her dress, Rory smiled as Lorelai started looping the ribbon in the back on the dress.

"How are you holding up?" Lorelai asked, not looking up.

"Still good. Feeling perfect, for once."

"No more morning sickness?"

"Not really. The kid has agreed to let me have the day off."

"Well, my grandchild is very nice."

"Since you're not the one who's been throwing up for the past month because of him, you're allowed to think that. I know better." Rory grinned, her hand resting on her bump quickly. "Hurry up, I want to see how it looks."

"Two more minutes. You don't want me to get this wrong, do you?"

"Nope." Her smile growing bigger, Rory bit her lip, trying to choke back tears. "I can't believe I'm getting married in less than an hour. Really, really can't believe it."

"I could pinch you." Lorelai laughed.

"No, thanks. But it's just…I've wanted this for so long and I've been waiting for him to ask and this to happen and now it finally is and we're getting married and I…love him. So much."

"Hey, no going all mushy on me. Save that for later."

* * *

_A couple of years earlier._

_As Rory was standing in front of a shelf in the small bookshop, leafing through a book, he walked up to her, wrapping his arms around her waist from behind. Kissing her shoulder gently, he smiled._

"_Good book?"_

"_No." Rory snickered, twisting her neck and placing a small kiss on his lips. "Great find though. This shop? Awesome." She smiled, turning back to look at the shelf. _

_Looking at the owners of the shop, who were standing behind the counter, talking and pointing to a book, he laughed._

"_Think that's going to be us in fifty years?"_

"_What?"_

"_They're arguing over Sparks. He refuses to give it a try and she's calling him pigheaded and stubborn." He smirked and she turned around in his arms._

"_I don't know…that's implying that we'll be together for the next fifty years."_

"_I don't have a problem with that." He placed a soft kiss on her lips, making her smile. _

"_Fifty years is an awfully long time."_

"_I might even make it to the end of 'Atlas Shrugged' by then."_

"_Actually opening the book would be a good start."_

"_Someday."_

"_Then I'll just have to be with you until you finish it."_

"_Promise?"_

"_Not if that means you won't even give it a try." _

"_I will. At some point." He smirked and she shook her head, laughing at the same time._

"_Pigheaded and stubborn." She turned around, putting a hand over his that was still resting on her waist. "It would be nice. Being like them." _

_Kissing her hair, he just smirked as the man behind the counter looked in their direction, winking at him when Rory wasn't looking. Placing another soft kiss on her head, he let go, picking up another book from the shelf. _

* * *

"Dress is ready, hon." Lorelai's voice announced, pulling her out of her reverie. Turning around, the huge smile still on her face, Rory looked at herself in the mirror, biting her lip.

"What do you think?"

"You're beautiful, kid. Just…perfect."

"Thank you." Rory nodded, wiping the corner of her eye quickly. Opening the door, Lorelai let Lane and Paris back in the room and they sat on the bed, dressed in their bridesmaids' dresses.

"Oh, wow, Rory, you look beautiful." Lane grinned, looking at her best friend.

"Thank you." She blushed, lowering her head.

"Looks nice." Paris smiled as well and Rory nodded. Handing them two glasses of champagne and getting some more apple juice for Rory, Lorelai sat next to the girls.

"Ok, last check. Something old?"

Lifting her hand to touch the necklace around her neck, Rory grinned. "Luke's mom's necklace."

"Something new?"

"Dress."

"Something borrowed?"

"Veil." She lifted her hand to touch her hair, the white veil falling down the back, softly covering her hair.

"And blue?"

"Garter." Rory grinned.

"Then you're all ready to get married, hon. I'm going to run downstairs and check on things, see if everyone's here and ready."

"Doula. Don't forget to make sure she's here."

"I know. Relax." Lorelai smiled, opening the door and running down the stairs. After checking the library and making sure everything was in place, she stepped in the dining room, finding everyone gathered there.

"Lorelai!" Emily's voice boomed from the other side of the room and she turned around, taking a deep breath.

"Yes, mom."

"How is she?"

"Almost ready. We should get started soon. Now if you'll excuse me, I need to find Jess." She excused herself quickly, breathing out loudly when her mother left her alone. Walking to Jess, Lorelai smiled, rubbing his arm quickly.

"How are you holding up?"

"Good. How is she?" He asked anxiously and Lorelai smiled.

"She's great. We're almost done."

"How is she feeling? Morning sickness and all that?"

"None at all, don't worry about it, ok? We're taking good care of her." Lorelai reassured him again and he nodded.

"Thanks."

Smiling softly, Lorelai nodded. "Have you seen Michel? I need to know if everyone's here and stuff."

"He was at the front desk."

"Thank you. Shouldn't be long now, ok?" Jess nodded and Lorelai stepped away, stopping in front of her husband quickly and rubbing his arm.

"Can you go keep Jess company? Make sure no one talks to him and stuff."

"Matt and Chris had that covered."

"Well, he was alone just now, so go!" Lorelai grumbled, kissing Luke quickly before walking to the front desk.

"Michel, is everyone here?"

"Almost. We're just missing…"

Before he could finish his sentence, Chris raced in the room, taking a deep breath.

"Traffic. Stupid, freaking traffic."

Giving the man a quick hug, Lorelai smiled. "Don't worry, there's still plenty of time."

"Good." He exhaled, trying to relax and Lorelai grabbed a glass of champagne from the front desk, handing it to him.

"Here you go. I'm going to head back upstairs and check on Rory, you go take a seat and breath for a while. Wait, Gigi?" Lorelai remembered just as the little girl walked in the room behind the man.

"Dad, told you we'd be here on time." She smiled, looking at Chris.

"Hey, kid." Lorelai smiled, hugging the girl.

"Hey, Lorelai."

"Gigi's here, as you can see. Ok, we're going to go find seats." The man smiled, heading towards the dining room. Turning back to Michel, Lorelai smiled.

"Is Doula here?"

"Yes. She and the troglodyte that is her father are in the library."

"And Liz?"

"Dining room, looking for her son."

"Thank you, Michel."

Walking back up the stairs, Lorelai opened the door to her daughter's room, finding the three young women sitting around, talking.

"Everyone's here, including Doula and your dad. Jess asked about you."

"How is he?" Rory grinned.

"He's good. I made sure Luke keeps him company so your grandmother doesn't attack him or something."

"Thank you."

"So? Ready to get married, kid?"

"Yes." Rory grinned, nodding enthusiastically.

"Are you sure? Because if you are, I'm going to go gather everyone and tell them it's a go."

"I am very, very sure." She nodded again, standing up.

"Give me two minutes then." Opening the door again and walking downstairs, Lorelai spotted Luke and Jess.

"Hey, Jess, you ready?"

"Yeah." He nodded.

"Then get ready to stand." She grinned making Jess grin as well. "I'm going to go find the Reverend and Doula and then we're getting started."

"Ok." Jess nodded again, taking a deep breath. Looking at his nephew, Luke smiled.

"You still ok?"

"Being nervous? That's fine, right?"

"I'd question your sanity if you weren't." Luke chuckled, looking at Lorelai who nodded, taking Doula's hand and leaving the room. As soon as everyone was seated in the other room, Matt and Chris walked to Jess, grinning.

"As your groomsmen, we feel it is our duty to inform you that you still have time to run away. As your friends, we feel it is our duty to inform you that if you did decide to do that, we'd be obligated to kick the shit out of you because you'd be an idiot." Matt announced, grinning.

"I'm pretty sure you'd have to get a ticket. There might be a long line of people wanting to kick my ass if I decide to leave."

"I have second dibs, after Lorelai." Luke chuckled, tilting his head in the direction of the library. "I think we need to go stand over there now."

"Ok." Jess took a deep breath, walking towards the improvised altar as everyone looked at him.

In the meantime upstairs, Lorelai handed Doula her flower basket, smiling. "Ok, everything's done. Rory?"

"I'm good. Let's go!"


	31. To the bride and groom!

**A/N: So, they're finally getting married. That took a while, didn't it? Anyway, I hope you have as much fun reading this as I had writing it. And go check out LukeAndLorelai Brucas Fan's new fic, _Wedding Crashers_ because it's fabulous and because she had a bit more fun with this wedding than I'm about to. **

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* * *

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**To the bride and groom!**

"_I'm good. Let's go_."

Rory grinned, rearranging the folds of her dress for the millionth time that morning. "Wait, I'm short. Or the dress is too long. Someone, help!" Rory looked around her and Lorelai grinned, picking up a pair of shoes from the floor.

"Shoes."

Laughing, Rory shook her head, pulling the dress away and looking down at her feet, still covered in the fluffy hotel slippers.

"I'd make a statement, clearly." She sat back down and put her shoes on. "Ok, someone check because now I don't trust my own judgment."

"You're beautiful." Hugging her quickly, Lorelai wiped her eyes, trying to hold back tears. "Congratulations."

"Thanks."

A few seconds later, the girls were lined up at the top of the stairs and Michel nodded, letting them know it was ok to start. Hugging Rory one more time, Lorelai started walking down the stairs as the music started playing, following Doula who was happily spreading the flower petals along the floor. As soon as Paris and Lane were at the bottom of the stairs, Rory took a deep breath, heading down as well, one hand holding the flowers tightly in her hand as she pressed the other one into her barely visible bump, smiling down at it for a brief second. Reaching the bottom of the stairs, she saw Jess, standing at the end of the makeshift aisle. Wiping her eyes quickly and making him smirk, she bit her lip, starting to walk slowly as everyone looked at her, her eyes never leaving Jess'. As soon as she reached the end, her hand reached for his and he squeezed it tightly, grinning. Watching the two, the reverend smiled, clearing his throat.

"Dearly beloved, we are gathered here today to witness the union of this man and this woman…"

"…They have decided to write their own vows. Rory?"

Her smile growing bigger, she squeezed his hand before turning around and giving Lorelai her flowers and taking the wedding ring from her. Looking back at Jess, she bit her lip, trying not to start crying.

"Jess, I never knew I could love someone this much. Every time I look at you, I feel so safe and loved and unbelievably happy. You are always here for me. Always good and kind and just…incredible. I am never lonely when I am with you. I am never afraid. Today, I promise to be your partner and best friend, to be by your side through the good and the bad times, in sickness and in health, for richer or for poorer. I promise to help you build your dreams, to be the one you can lean on no matter what, to do my best to never let you down for as long as we both shall live. And I promise you the rain won't make any difference."

Sliding the ring on his finger, she smiled at their inside joke and he shook his head slowly, trying to stop himself from kissing her.

"Jess?" The reverend smiled and Jess nodded, turning around and taking the ring from Luke before taking her hand.

"I love you, Rory. As selfishly as the fact that I exist. As selfishly as my lungs breathe air. I breathe for my own necessity, for the fuel of my body, for my survival. I love you for the same reasons. Because I wouldn't even know where to start living without you. Because you are gentle and selfless and warm. Because you smile and make every place be home. Because you believe in me even when I give you no reason to, you trust me, you help me, you listen to me, you are always there for me. Because you are my family. I love you because I truly have no other choice. Today, I promise you I will try my hardest to always make you as happy as you deserve to be. To be next to you, no matter what lies ahead of us. To never leave you. And I promise I will continue to love you unconditionally for the rest of my life."

He slid the ring on her finger slowly, smiling. Grinning as well, Rev. Skinner nodded.

"With the power invested in me by the state of Connecticut, I now pronounce you husband and wife. You may kiss the bride."

Letting go of her hand and cupping her face instead, his other arm wrapped around her waist, Jess closed the small gap between them and crushed his mouth to hers, ignoring everyone else in the room as they stood up and started applauding. Moving away, he wiped a tear out of the corner of her eye, smiling as she bit her lip, placing another quick kiss on his lips.

"Love you." He mouthed quickly and she nodded, squeezing his hand.

"Love you too. See, this is why I had to go first. 'Cause now I'm all weepy and blubbery and not coherent and stuff."

"It's fine." He smiled softly.

Letting go of him, Rory smiled when Lorelai hugged her, grinning.

"Congratulations, kid."

"Thank you." Handing her back her flowers, Lorelai wiped her eyes.

"Didn't I tell you you're not allowed to make me cry?"

"How do you think I feel? I'm supposed to be the hormonal one here!" Rory laughed softly, wiping her eyes again.

"And the one who just got married." Lorelai pointed out again, taking the couple of steps separating her from Jess. "I know I said I'd never do this again, but I suppose the occasion calls for it." She laughed, hugging him quickly. "Congratulations, Jess. You're a good guy."

"What, no 'hurt her, I'll break your legs' speech?" Jess smirked back.

"Do you need one?"

"I'm good." He nodded.

"Then no speech." Stepping back, Lorelai made room for everyone else who was trying to hug and congratulate the couple. As soon as Luke was done, he stepped closer to his wife, watching the younger couple as well.

"They finally did it. Took 'em long enough."

Laughing, Lorelai shook her head, kissing him softly. "I'm sorry, should I move further away so the god of irony doesn't hit me as well when he smacks you over the head?"

"No." He pulled her closer, wrapping his arm around her waist as she rested her head on his shoulder. "I love you."

"Love you too." Lorelai smiled, still watching her daughter and her new husband.

As soon as everyone was done hugging and congratulating them, the photographer walked up to Rory and Jess, holding up his camera.

"Do you want to go take a few pictures outside?"

"You up for it or do you want to go sit down for a bit?" Jess leaned closer to Rory's ear, whispering but she shook her head.

"I'm good. Let's go." She took his hand, dragging him outside, following the photographer. A lot of pictures later, the photographer motioned for the door.

"I'll go grab the rest of your wedding party, you guys run inside and warm up for a while."

"Thank you." As soon as they were back inside, Jess started running his hands up and down Rory's arms, trying to warm her up.

"Stop being stubborn and consider putting on a coat."

"But dress! Pretty, pretty dress!"

"Hypothermia." He smirked back, leaning over and kissing her. "You're fucking gorgeous in this dress." He whispered, making her blush.

"Freezing to death is now worth it." She smiled back, her fingers running through his hair.

"Can we skip the party and go straight to the part where I take it off you?" He chuckled, cocking an eyebrow.

"Sure. I'll be ok with us missing the reception for our wedding."

"Married for less than an hour and I'm already being oppressed."

"Oh, poor you." Rory laughed, kissing him again.

"Hard life." He shook his head, still smirking.

"You'll get over it." Rory took his hand as the photographer walked to them again, everyone else following him. After they were finished taking pictures, everyone walked back to the dining room, sitting down to rest for a bit. Pointing to the side of the room, Rory smiled.

"Look over there."

"What?" Jess looked in the direction she was pointing.

"Jimmy and Liz."

Seeing the two talking and laughing, with Doula clinging to her mother's leg while Liz's hand played in the girl's hair, Jess shook his head slowly, smirking.

"I somehow have a feeling my wedding day is not supposed to be the first time I see my parents talking."

"Go talk to them." She encouraged him, smiling.

"Come with me?"

"Ok." Rory nodded, standing up and taking his hand. Standing up as well, he pulled her closer to him for a second, attacking her mouth. Pulling back, she laughed, looking at him.

"Jess, people."

"Hey, not even your grandmother can object to me kissing my wife on our wedding day. I plan on taking advantage of that."

"Wife." Rory smiled softly, looking into his eyes, realizing the word now applied to her as well.

"That's what the guy in the black outfit called you. I'd believe him, he seems like he knows what he's doing."

"Your wife."

"Well, yeah." Jess chuckled, his hand cupping her face again. "For an impossibly long time."

"Forever."

"That the best you can do?" He smirked, starting to walk towards his parents, trying to avoid Kirk who looked like he was trying to decide whether or not he should talk to them.

"Hey, guys." Rory smiled as they walked up to Liz and Jimmy, her arm wrapped tightly around Jess' waist.

"Congratulations, Jess." Liz grinned, hugging her son again, as he grimaced, making Rory laugh. "And you! You're so beautiful in your dress." Letting go of Jess, Liz's arms wrapped around Rory quickly. "You both did great up there."

"Thanks." Jess nodded, his arm wrapping back protectively around Rory's waist.

"Congratulations." Jimmy nodded, less exuberant than Liz.

"You did an awesome job, Doula." Rory leaned down, ruffling the little girl's hair.

"I know, mom already told me so."

Laughing, Jess shook his head. "So, everything ok here? You have food, drinks, stuff like that?"

"Don't worry about anything. Really." Liz reassured him.

"Ok. We're going to go make the rounds and say hello to people then. Have fun." Jess tilted his head, making a quick escape.

"What happened?" Rory lifted her head, kissing his cheek quickly.

"Nothing. Just…not used to the two of them talking. Or being in the same room."

"Ok." Rory nodded. Appearing out of nowhere, Lorelai took Rory's hand and started dragging the two after her as fast as she could. Opening the door to her office, she pushed them inside.

"Have some time to yourselves before you start talking to everyone and eat and stuff. Bask in the knowledge that you're married. You have ten minutes before Emily's head explodes." She grinned, closing the door behind her.

Sitting down in an arm chair, Jess pulled her down in his lap, smiling when she rested her head on his shoulder, sighing happily.

"We really are married."

"Hear that, kid?" Jess lowered one hand, running it over her bump. "You're no longer a bastard."

"Hey, no calling our son names." She laughed, kissing his cheek. "Not after he's been nice and gave me a break today."

"So you're really feeling fine?"

"I'm feeling perfect."

"Good." He placed a soft kiss on her lips.

"I love you. So, so much." She smiled, her face inches away from his.

"Yeah, I got that. I think it's unfair you quoted Hemingway while I was expected to show restraint and not just jump from my place and kiss you. Really unfair." He grinned, his mouth covering Rory's for a second.

"Hey, you quoted Rand."

"Yeah, but you had less time to wait. Plus you knew I was going to use a quote. I didn't."

"You should have guessed."

* * *

_Years before._

"_Isn't it supposed to always be sunny in Philadelphia?" Rory pouted, throwing herself on the couch as the rain continued to fall outside the windows of their small apartment._

"_I like it." He shrugged, his arms wrapping around her and pulling her closer._

"_I like to walk in it, but it's been going on for freaking ever."_

"_It will stop. And the rain won't make any difference." He added after a few seconds, smiling and looking down at her as she cuddled closer to him._

"_What?" She looked at him and he shook his head, his hand pulling her closer._

"_Just a line I read in a book once."_

"_What does it mean? Won't make a difference to what?"_

"_It's just…the rain won't make a difference to him always loving her. Even though the rain is hard on loving." He chuckled, his fingers playing in her hair._

"_Will the rain make a difference?" She looked up at him and he shook his head again._

"_No." Lifting her head, she crushed her mouth to his, smiling as well. "Promise."_

_A few months later, when his second book was published, the dedication read simply "And the rain won't make any difference."_

* * *

"Still unfair." Jess fake pouted, making her laugh. Placing quick, small kisses on his lips, she ran her fingers across his face.

"Better?"

"Getting there." He rested his hand on the back of her neck, steadying her moves and pulled her in for another kiss.

"Can I point out the irony of your quote? He's sending her back to her husband in that speech. He even says he's not marrying her then."

"Yeah, but he had good intentions. And…I meant it. Don't get me wrong, Rand is still boring and annoying and far too political to ever be considered good literature by anyone but you and idiots. But it's a good speech. Well expressed. I've given you not my sacrifice or my pity, but my ego and my naked need." He quoted again, whispering against her mouth. "Plus…" He whispered even more sheepishly, his eyes focusing on her lips instead of her eyes. "It was the book you were reading to the kid. Figured it would make you happy."

"Don't be all perfect, I can't marry you again." She bit her lip, choking back tears as she crushed her mouth to his.

"Once was enough. Mine." He hugged her close to him, kissing her hair. "I've never known how to say 'mine about anything. Not in the sense I say it about you. Mine." Jess smiled and she pulled back, tears now streaming down her cheeks.

"Now you're intentionally trying to make me cry."

"Nope. Just making sure."

"Yours. For the rest of my life." She nodded, a thought crossing her head. "She held him feeling he was all of life there was and it was true." She cradled his face in her hands. "You're…" Lifting his finger to her lips, he stopped her from finishing her sentence.

"I love you."

"I love you too." She smiled again, kissing the corner of his mouth. Hearing a soft knock on the door, she stood up, her hand still holding his. "Coming."

Moving to the edge of the seat, Jess hugged her, kissing her small bump before standing up and wiping her cheeks. "No more crying."

"Well, I'm hormonal. Stop being so damn sweet and perfect." Rory laughed, kissing him.

"I'll try."

"I suppose that'll have to do." She took his hand again, heading outside the room, finding Lorelai and Emily standing there.

"Hey, grandma."

"Beautiful ceremony."

* * *

A while later, after they finished greeting everyone that was gathered in the room, they sat back down in their seats. Drinking from her glass, Rory smiled, her other hand playing in Jess' hair. Collapsing next to them in a chair, Lorelai sighed, exhausted.

"I just sat through a 20 minutes lecture from my mother on the importance of proper manners and why is everyone congratulating Rory instead of offering their best wishes and have they never opened an etiquette book and it's just not done!"

"I suggest a drinking game. Empty your glass every time Emily drives you mad." Jess chuckled.

"Rory, how do you feel about me starting to dance on a table in half an hour when I'm completely sloshed after listening to your lovely husband?"

"Not so hot on it, I must say."

"Damn." Jess and Lorelai replied at the same time, laughing.

"Behave. Both of you." Rory threatened, shaking her head.

"Clearly oppressed." Jess smirked, kissing her cheek.

"Get used to it." Lorelai grinned, leaning back in her chair.

"I think Liz needs me or something." Jess looked at the woman, who was waving him over. "Be right back."

"Want me to come with you?"

"I'm fine. Sit down for a while, stubborn woman." Jess kissed the top of Rory's head. "Lorelai, please make sure she doesn't go running off the second I'm not here."

"Overprotective!" Rory grinned after him, shaking her head.

Walking up to them, Christopher smiled. "Hey, guys."

"Dad!" Rory yelped, excited, jumping up from her chair and hugging the man. "What'd you think?"

"I think you look beautiful. And the ceremony wasn't too bad either." He chuckled, hugging his daughter back. "Lucky I knew someone and I got good seats."

"Slipped Michel a little something?" Lorelai grinned, looking at the man.

"Got me."

"Pull up a chair."

Sitting down, the man grinned, nodding. "So, how does it feel to be married?"

"I don't know, it hasn't kicked in yet." She glanced quickly at the wedding ring on her finger. "Happy."

"Well, good, otherwise I'd have to pull out my shotgun."

Groaning, Rory shook her head. "Save your bullets for when Gigi becomes a teenager. Where is she, by the way?"

"Talking to Sookie's boy. I think I may need to start cleaning it out now, she doesn't seem to get that one daughter getting married is all my poor heart can take for one day. I don't need her to start crushing on some boy just yet."

"Get used to it, hon." Lorelai smiled. "Just wait until she brings home a boy. And then cross your fingers your life doesn't turn into some music-less version of the _West Side Story_, with boys duelling for her heart."

"Mom…" Rory groaned again, burying her face in her palms.

"Hush, sweetie, I'm allowed to reminisce today." She put her hand on her daughter's arm, smiling. "And then she proceeds to marry one of those boys."

"Ten years later!" Rory pointed out again, shaking her head.

"Whatever." Lorelai shook her head.

"Mom is feeling extremely dramatic today."

"Well, my baby got married!"

"No, your baby is over there with April. Your grown daughter got married to the man she has been dating for almost five years."

"Did I not tell you to shut up? I'm allowed to be emotional today. And I don't care how old you are, you're still my baby!" She wrapped her arm around Rory, smiling. "Chris?"

"Dad?"

"I'm with your mom on this. You're too young to be married and be pregnant and all that. Especially to the boy you got in a car crash with." Christopher teased as well, laughing.

"Gah." Rory dropped her face in her palms again, shaking her head slowly. "If you'll excuse me, I'm going to go find my husband and let you two be silly here." She stood up, smiling.

"We need to shrink this kid and make her be 5 again. Look at her. Husband and all that!" Lorelai laughed as Rory started walking away. Reaching Jess, she wrapped her arm around him, her chin resting on his shoulder.

"My parents have gone crazy sentimental. How's it going over here?"

"Hey, parents are allowed to be sentimental today!" Liz protested, smiling.

"You've given her ideas. Thanks." Jess chuckled, kissing her. "What did I say about you sitting down?"

"Calm down. I feel fine." She reassured him, her fingers running through his hair. "Liz, help me out here."

"Jess, Rory knows her limits."

"Hey, I have to be protective."

"Overprotective." Rory corrected him, smiling.

"Whatever. You won't slow down unless someone tells you to. I'm just here to be that person."

"You're here to drive me crazy." She laughed, moving even closer to him. "I think I'm going to go track down some food, it's been almost 3 hours since the last time I ate."

"I'll come with you. Liz, you'll be ok?"

"I'm fine. Go have fun!"

"See you around."

Heading for one of the tables set with trays of appetizers, Rory smiled, her hand tight around his.

"Sookie went crazy with the food."

"Did you expect anything else?"

"No." She laughed, grabbing a plate and starting to pile some food on it. "God, not being nauseous is great."

"Think it's a one day special or is this going to last?"

"Hopefully it will last. My books say I should be done with morning sickness."

"You better be, I want you back." He kissed her shoulder softly, smiling. "I hate watching you be sick while I stand around helpless."

Putting her plate down, she cupped his face in her hand, caressing his skin softly with her thumb. "You're helping more than you know."

"Eat something, ok?" He kissed her palm before lowering it, pointing to the plate.

"Oh, I will." She replied, starting to nibble on her food. Walking up to them, Matt grinned, crossing his arms across his chest.

"See? Did an awesome job at standing!"

"Yes, you did." Rory agreed, snickering as well.

"Oh, don't worry, I know you wish you could have married me instead, but it's ok. You had to do it. I understand."

"I'll leave him tomorrow. For you, my dear."

Wrapping his arm around Rory and pulling her closer to him, Jess smirked. "Really? Leaving me?"

"Uh…well…" She hesitated, looking at Jess, then quickly glancing over at Matt again. "I'll stay with him." Winking, she whispered dramatically, leaning closer to Matt. "We'll talk about this when he's not here."

"Traitors." Jess pulled Rory back to him, making her laugh.

"Ok, ok, I get it! She's yours." Matt smiled.

"Guys, I'm sorry to interrupt but I'm pretty sure it's about time for speeches and all that." Lorelai walked up to them.

"Already?"

"It's late, people are getting hungry."

"Ok." Taking Jess' hand, Rory started heading back towards the head table, taking a deep breath before sitting back down. Sitting down as well, Lorelai nodded at Lane, who stood up and clinked a teaspoon against her glass.

"Rory, we've known each other for many, many years but, despite my best attempts, I have no incriminating letters from you to share with these people. Damn." As everyone laughed, the young woman wiped her eyes quickly, looking at her best friend. "I do however have quite a long list of times I could recount when you came to me ranting and raving about how infuriating Jess was. Which I won't do because, well, Jess has grown on me since high school. No one here tell him that or it will go to his head." She laughed again as the man shook his head, smirking. "You're both really good people and I wish you all the happiness in the world. Congratulations. To the bride and groom."

After everyone took a drink, Lane sat back down, hugging Rory quickly. "Thank you." Rory whispered quickly.

"Love you, Rory."

"Love you too."

Standing up at the same time, Chris and Matthew grinned, looking at their friends.

"We couldn't decide who should give the speech, since we both met Jess at the exactly same time so we just decided to both do it." Chris elbowed his friend in the ribs, making him punch his arm back.

"Clearly, this decision has not come lightly."

"We've been there, watching them build this relationship from scratch and frankly, we still have no idea what Rory's doing with him."

"Despite that, we do hope they're impossibly happy together. For our sake, as much as theirs."

"Congratulations. To Rory and Jess!"

* * *

Later that night, back in the honeymoon suite, Jess sat on the bed, undoing his tie while Rory sat on the chair, taking her shoes off and then lifting her hands, trying to get the pins out of her hair.

"Need any help?" He smiled, looking at her but she shook her head.

"I'm good. Can't believe it's done, though. And we're officially married. Or that you found a version of _Guns of Brixton_ that was slow enough for a first dance." She laughed, looking at him.

"Told you I'd find a good song." He smiled, kicking off his shoes.

"Thank you. For everything. Today was perfect."

"What are you thanking me for?"

"Just…everything?" Rory snickered, taking the veil out of her hair and standing up, her hands running through her hair. Walking to him, she looked down at him as he put his hands on her hips, pulling her close to him. "I love you." She smiled, her hands cupping his face.

"I love you too." He looked up at her, his thumbs running over the lace on her dress. "You happy?" He whispered and she nodded, ruffling his hair.

"Happier than I've ever been."

"Good." He nodded, still smiling and stood up.

"You happy?" She whispered, looking into his eyes.

"Yeah, you could say that." Jess chuckled, his arms wrapping around her. "So, do I now get to take the dress of you and see what the blue thing was?" He cocked an eyebrow and Rory laughed, nodding.

"Only if you want to live."

"Eager?" His mouth drifted to her neck, placing a soft trail of kisses on her skin.

"I'm pretty sure this is how a perfect day has to end." Rory smiled, her mouth finding his.

"If you insist." He smirked before walking around her, pushing her hair out of the way and looking at the back of the dress. "What, no annoying zipper this time? I'm almost disappointed."

"No, you're not."

Undoing the bow, he chuckled. "No, I'm not."


	32. Honeymoon begins

**A/N: Sorry it's taken this long to post this, but with exams going on, I barely have time to breathe. I hope you enjoy this chapter.**

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* * *

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**Honeymoon begins**

Sunday morning, Rory woke up, a huge smile creeping on her lips as she snuggled closer to Jess. Lifting her hand, she looked at it and he kissed the top of her head, hugging her closer.

"What are you doing?"

"Making sure it wasn't a dream." She lifted her head, kissing him softly. "Good morning, husband."

"How long are you going to call me that?" He smirked and she lifted a finger to her mouth, pretending to think about it.

"Mmm…haven't decided yet."

"Let me know when you have, ok?"

"I will." She kissed him again quickly. "I'm going to go track down some food. I'm starving."

"You want me to go?"

"Nope. Mom said she was going to have someone drop some cake in the mini-fridge last night. That and some coffee should be enough until lunch time."

"A whole hour away." Jess smirked, watching her as she got out of bed, picking up his shirt from the floor and putting it on, not bothering to button it up before walking to the other side of the room, turning on the small coffee machine before opening the fridge.

"Cake?"

"Sure."

Sitting back on the bed and handing him a plate, Rory looked at him, a giant smile on her face.

"What is it this time?" Jess chuckled, looking at her.

"Your wedding ring. Don't mind me." She pointed to his hand then looked at him again, realizing something. "Did you say an hour?"

"What?"

"'Till lunch."

"Yeah." He nodded, picking up his watch and showing it to her.

"Crazy." She muttered under her breath, shaking her head before taking a bite from the cake. "How much hell do you think grandma will give us if we're late for lunch?"

"I'm sure we can get away with it. Why, how late do you plan on being?" Jess smirked, looking at her.

"Very late."

* * *

Walking into the inn's dining room later that day, Rory blushed, hiding her face in Jess' shoulder when she realized everyone was looking at them.

"'Cause the guilty look is definitely going to throw them off." Jess whispered, chuckling and kissing the top of her head.

"Shut up." She smacked his arm, sitting down in a chair next to Lorelai. "Hey, mom."

"Finally dragged yourselves out here?"

"It's your fault, there's no clock in the room. We just lost track of time."

"Uh-huh. Sure." Lorelai laughed, shaking her head. "Coffee?"

"Please."

"Jess?"

"Yeah, sure."

"So, how's everything been going here?" Rory asked after one of the waiters brought over their coffees.

"Nothing much. Mom's been looking for you."

"Where is she?"

"I think back in her room or something. I have no idea." Lorelai shrugged. "But I wouldn't get so excited; as far as I can tell you're in for a lecture."

"What did I do this time?" Rory grimaced, going over things in her head.

"You missed breakfast which makes you a bad hostess. Clearly."

"Ugh." She made a face, drinking from her coffee. "Can she not relax for a second?"

"Impossible."

"You'd think she'd ease up that now that the kid won't be born out of wedlock."

"No chance." Lorelai huffed, spotting her mother walking in the room. "Red alert! Red alert! Incoming!"

"Jess, run." Rory leaned over to him and he looked at her.

"You sure?"

"Yes. Run." She smiled, kissing him quickly before he stood up, heading in the opposite direction. After a quick dodge through the kitchen, he wound up on the back porch, finding Jimmy there, leaning against the railing.

"Bored already?" He smirked, standing next to the man, looking inside the inn through a window at Rory, who was listening to her grandmother talk.

"Not really my crowd. Babette and Patty sat down at my table and started badgering me with questions so I've exiled myself out here for a bit."

"Sorry." Jess shrugged.

"It's fine. I'll deal with it." The man smiled back at his son. "You did good for yourself, Jess."

"What?"

"You seem to have a good life here."

"My life's in Philadelphia, but I get your point. I would however prefer to be spared of the rest of this conversation." He smiled back at the man, running a hand through his hair.

"Can I at least tell you I'm proud of you?" Jimmy looked at him, hesitant.

"As long as you don't hug me."

"I wasn't planning to." He chuckled, nodding. After a few seconds of silence, Jess looked at him, more serious than before.

"Can I ask you a question?"

"Yeah, sure."

"Why'd you leave?"

"Jess, I…uh…" The man mumbled, not knowing what to say.

"I'm not trying to start a fight. Just…want to know, I guess. You had to have known it was going to come up at some point."

"Yeah, I just figured it would take a couple more visits."

"I mean, I get the leaving without saying goodbye thing. I've done it. But you..."

"I was a jerk." Jimmy shrugged, looking at Jess. "There's no good reason. I got scared and bailed. That's about it. Plus, I didn't think you'd miss me much. It's not like I could have done any good to you or Liz by staying."

"Ok." Jess nodded, running a hand through his hair.

"That's it?" He looked at him, incredulously and Jess smirked.

"I'll email you if I have any follow up questions."

"Ok." Jimmy chuckled, relaxing.

"Did you try to say that you're going to visit again earlier?" Jess realized and the older man nodded.

"If it's ok with you. I'd like to see you more often. And I know I don't really have a leg to stand on to claim I'd be a good grandfather to your kid, but I'd like to at least meet it after it's born. Actually…uh…" Jimmy mumbled, trying to get over his embarrassment. "I got something for your kid. It's nothing much but…" Taking a small package out of a pocket, he shoved it into Jess' hands. "Here."

"You've been carrying this with you?" Jess smirked.

"Didn't want to lose it." He shrugged again, looking down.

"Thanks."

"Guys, what are you doing outside? It's freezing." Rory walked to them, wrapping her arms around Jess.

"Hey, some of us don't get to see snow that often." Jimmy smirked, looking at the young couple.

"Would it kill both of you to wear warmer clothes then?"

"And I'm the overprotective one here." Jess smirked, kissing her temple.

"Sorry, I'm keeping him outside."

"Well, just in case you decide you're frozen enough, food's being served inside. Plus there's this whole heating thing. Awesome invention, keeps rooms warm."

"Coming." Jess nodded, kissing her temple again. "Jimmy?"

"After you."

As soon as they were back in their seats, Rory looked at Jess, her fingers playing in his hair.

"What was that about?"

"Talking." He placed a quick kiss on her lips then recounted the conversation.

"Wow. That went…well."

"Figured I'd better bring it up while I'm in a good mood."

"You ok with his answer?"

"At least it's an answer." Jess shrugged, kissing her again. "And he didn't try to find an excuse, so…I don't know. I'm ok with it."

"How about with him coming back to visit? See the kid, all that?"

"Are you ok with it?"

"It's your call."

"Ror…" He looked at her and she smiled, tracing his lip with her thumb.

"I want whatever makes you happiest. If you're ok with him coming to visit and see the kid, then I'm ok. And he's trying, so we can as well. If it doesn't work out, then that's it. God knows this kid will have more than enough people to love him or her."

"Ok. One more visit, then we'll see."

"Ok." Rory nodded, kissing him.

* * *

Later that afternoon, Rory sat down on the couch next to Jess, resting her head on his shoulder.

"Dad and Gigi left."

"We should head soon as well if we want to get there before dark." He kissed the top of her head, smiling.

"I still need to talk to mom and give her the keys to our place so she can go drop the presents."

"Ok." He kissed her head again, rubbing her arm. "How are you feeling?"

"Not as horribly tired as usual."

"Good." Picking up the package from the couch, he gave it to her. "You forgot to open this earlier. Or do you want to wait until we get back home?"

"Jimmy's present?"

"Yeah."

"Shouldn't you open it?"

"I don't care."

"Ok." Carefully opening the package, Rory smiled, picking up the tiny baby outfit. "It's cute."

"It was nice of him, I'll give him that."

"Hey, mom and dad wanted to say goodbye before they headed back home. They were waiting at the front desk." Lorelai appeared next to them, holding a cup of coffee. "Oh, sweet. Who's it from?"

"Jimmy." Jess replied, standing up. "Should we go before they come find us and we get lectured again?"

"Be back in a second." Rory smiled at her mother before standing up, taking Jess's hand as they both headed for the reception area. Finding her grandparents waiting there, she let go of Jess before hugging Emily quickly.

"Thank you so much for everything, grandma."

"Nonsense, you don't have anything to thank me for."

"But the dress and…"

"You have nothing to thank me for." The woman repeated, smiling. "Best wishes, Rory."

"Thank you."

"Congratulations, Jess."

"Thank you." He smiled, nodding. Stepping in front of Richard, Rory gave the man a hug as well.

"You made a beautiful bride, Rory."

"Thanks."

"You'll take care of her, right, Jess?"

"Of course." The two men shook hands.

"We'll see you in a couple of weeks, grandpa."

"Have fun in New York." Emily smiled again before looking at the front door. "We should get going."

"Thank you again for coming."

"Goodbye, Rory. Jess." Richard nodded as he headed for the door, opening it for his wife. Before she walked out, she turned around, looking at her granddaughter.

"I assume I don't have to remind you to send thank you notes, do I, Rory?"

"As soon as we get back, grandma. As soon as we get back." She grinned, trying to stop herself from laughing until the two were out of the room. "One step forward, one back." She snickered, hugging Jess.

"Progress. At least she's talking to me."

"Well, she has to. Husband and all that." Rory smiled, lifting his hand and placing a kiss on his palm, next to the wedding ring. Appearing next to them, Jimmy smiled, dropping his bag at his feet.

"I'm going to head out now."

Quickly letting go of Jess' hand, Rory turned around to look at the man, smiling. "Do you need a ride or anything?"

"Cab. I've inconvenienced you guys enough already."

"You haven't." Jess shook his head. "Come visit again when you have time."

"I will." The older man nodded, smiling as he ran a hand through his hair. "If you get tired of all the cold, California's a nice place to visit."

"We'll think about it." Jess smirked, extending his arm. "It was good to see you again, Jimmy."

"You too." He shook his son's hand, then looked at Rory. "And meeting you. It was really nice to meet you."

"Same here." Rory smiled. Hearing a car honk outside, Jimmy glanced at the door, running a hand through his hair.

"That's my cab."

"Have a safe flight." Jess answered, watching as the man picked up his bag and started walking towards the door.

"I'll…give you a call in a couple of weeks." Jimmy mumbled, making Jess nod and smirk.

"Ok."

"See you." He waved once before walking out the door, leaving the younger couple alone.

"And I think we're now officially the only ones left here." Rory smiled, burying her face in his chest as his hand started running down her back.

"Does that mean we can leave as well now?"

"Why are you so excited about leaving?"

"Kidding me? You, me, a room and no one that will dare call us because…hell, I'm sure they know better than that."

"One track mind. Seriously." Rory grinned, lifting her head and kissing him quickly. Taking his hand, they walked back in the library, finding Lorelai still on the couch. "Mom, we're going to go now." Digging through her pocket, she took out her keys, handing them to Lorelai. "Here."

"Ok. I'll drive over at some point this week and drop your presents and the clothes."

"What clothes?"

"Some maternity clothes mom had left." Rory smiled, wrapping her arm around Jess. "Just leave them anywhere around the living room. I'll arrange everything once we're back."

"Anything else you need?"

"Don't think so. Wedding dress?"

"I have the bag, I'll hang it in your closet."

"Thanks." Rory smiled. "Want to go get the bags?" She looked at Jess but he shook his head.

"I'll bring them, you say goodbye."

"Thank you." She placed a quick kiss on his lips and he let go of her.

"I'll put them in the car and bring it to the front."

"Honk when you're here."

"Ok. Bye, Lorelai."

"Bye. Have fun." She waved at Jess before he headed towards the back door of the inn. Sitting down on the couch, Rory smiled, picking up the small outfit.

"Can you take this with you as well?"

"Sure." Lorelai smiled, taking it from her. "It was nice of Jimmy to do this, wasn't it?"

"Things seem…better. He said he'll call, Jess agreed to another visit sometime soon."

"That's good. How are you feeling about it?"

"He seems like a nice guy. I don't like what he's done, but if Jess is ok with it, I have to be."

"You can always rant to me." Lorelai grinned, rubbing her daughter's arm.

"Thanks. For everything."

"Hey, only daughter and all that." She smiled. "You happy, hon?"

"So happy." Rory reassured her, smiling. "Yesterday was perfect. Everything is."

"Good. I know it's your honeymoon and all that, but give me a call to let me know you're alive once in a while."

"Will do." Hearing the car honk outside, they both stood up. Hugging Lorelai, Rory smiled. "Say goodbye to Luke for us, ok?"

"I will. Love you, kid."

"Love you too."

* * *

A while later, in the car. Rory kicked off her shoes, smiling.

"Excited, husband?" She ruffled his hair and he glanced over, nodding and smirking.

"You could say that. Nice to finally have you all to myself."

"All yours."

"Did you look at any of the houses I bookmarked?"

"A couple. I was going to call the agency on Wednesday or something to arrange a couple of viewings."

"Which ones?"

"I'll point them out to you when we have a computer again."

"Ok."

"I love you, husband." Rory grinned again.

"Love you too." Jess smiled, lifting his hand and caressing her cheek gently. "So…maternity clothes?"

"It will be nice to have something that fits well. It's getting harder to fit in my old ones." She ran her hand over her bump, looking down.

"You saying you're officially fat now?"

"Good thing I have me a husband and don't have to worry about being pretty." Rory laughed, reaching for his hand and squeezing it gently.

"You're still pretty." He smirked, looking at her. "Of course, I reserve the right to change my mind when you get fat." He chuckled and she shook her head, laughing as well.

"Pregnant, you jerk." She stuck out her tongue.

"Yeah, I remember. God knows you keep mentioning it." Jess laughed, looking at her again.

"Now I'm really wondering why the heck I married you." She grinned, ruffling his hair.

"Because you had to. I got you in trouble, didn't I?" He smirked.

"Only way you could have gotten me to agree to marry you."

"Oh, now you're on." Jess laughed.

"Shut up and drive, husband." Yawning, she stretched her arms. "Mind if I get some sleep? The last few days might have been a bit too crazy."

"Go ahead. I'll wake you when we get there."

"Thanks."

A few minutes later, Jess looked at her again, seeing her already asleep, a smile creeping on his lips before turning around to focus on driving.

* * *

A few hours later, they were lying in the bed of their hotel room. Kissing the top of her head, Jess pulled away, making her grumble.

"What's going on?"

"I forgot something." He got out of bed, opening his bag and pulling out a small package. Throwing it to her, he smiled, sitting back down on the bed. "Here."

"What is it?"

"Wedding present."

"Jess, I don't think that's how it works."

"You get married, you get presents. That's exactly how it works." He chuckled, moving closer to her and kissing her.

"Smartass." Rory smiled, shaking her head. "Can I open it?"

"It's your present, you can do whatever you want with it."

"I love you, husband." She smiled, ripping the paper to find a small book, with nothing written on the cover. "What's this?"

"Told you I was writing something for you." He shrugged, looking at her.

"Do I tell you often enough you're perfect?"

"I don't think so." He laughed, placing kisses down her cheek and neck. "However, I do have one condition before you get to read it."

"What is it?"

"If you as much as think about crying, I'm taking the book away from you and hiding it until the kid turns 5."

"You wouldn't." She pouted, her fingers running through his hair.

"Yes, I would."

"Jerk." She lifted her head, kissing him as she cupped his face with one hand. "My jerk."

"I can take it away now, if you prefer." He started reaching for the book but Rory moved her hand away from him, laughing.

"Mine."

"Only as long as you're not crying."

"No promises." She kissed him again. "You make me very, very happy, you know that, right?"

"I have to, otherwise everyone would kill me. Go ahead and start reading, I know it's killing you." He smirked, kissing her one more time.

"Thank you."


	33. New York, New York

**A/N: Thank you for the reviews. **

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* * *

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**New York, New York**

A couple of days later, they were walking down the streets, her arm wrapped tightly around his waist while his rested on her shoulders. Snuggling closer, she smiled, looking at him.

"You having fun?"

"I will as soon as you can explain to me why we had to leave the hotel room." Jess smirked back, placing a quick kiss on her lips.

"Food, you jerk. I love being in bed with you, but I need food to survive."

"Room service."

"Their pancakes suck."

"I'm sure they have something that doesn't suck on the menu."

"Baby wanted pancakes." She nodded solemnly, making him chuckle.

"Sure." He drew out the word, looking at her. "If that's the excuse you plan on sticking to."

"It is, thank you very much." She laughed, lifting her head and kissing him. "Plus there is no way in hell I will agree with spending every day in bed. We could have done that at home."

"We already went out once."

"Yes, because it was New Year's Eve. You may be a local but I want to enjoy the touristy things and seeing the ball drop was one of those things. I'm a small town kid, this is exciting to me."

* * *

_Monday evening._

_As the large clocks started counting down the last minutes before midnight, she hugged him closer, her mouth close to his ear so he could hear her over the madness of the crowd. _

"_Happy?" _

"_Wondering why you dragged me to this." _

"_Because it's fun."_

"_It's insane and crowded and people are shoving and pushing."_

"_You're being overprotective again but don't want to admit it, aren't you?"_

"_Well, admitting to it now would make no sense." He smirked, pulling back and kissing her quickly. _

"_You're insane."_

"_I don't want you to get hurt." He ran his knuckles over her bump quickly, his smirk changing into a soft smile. _

"_I'll be fine. We're standing to the side, away from people. Everything will be alright."_

"_I know."_

"_That doesn't mean you'll stop worrying, does it?"_

"_Nope." He agreed, hugging her closer. _

"_You're already super-dad and don't even realize it."_

"_No, I'm just concerned about your safety." He shook his head, kissing her. "I think they're getting ready to start the countdown, you might want to watch."_

_Nodding, she turned around in his arms, watching as everyone started counting down the last minute. Wrapping his arms tighter around her from behind, Jess leaned closer so he could see her, watching as she counted down with everyone else, a giant smile playing on her lips. As soon as they reached 1, she twisted her neck and kissed him, ignoring the happy people around them screaming and celebrating. _

"_Happy New Year, Jess." She whispered against his mouth, kissing him again._

"_Happy New Year. I love you."_

"_I love you too." She smiled, turning around completely and hugging him. _

"_What do you know, the world didn't end in 2012." He chuckled, his hand cupping her face._

"_Well, I'm sure that everyone that used to know you as a teenager might agree that you being married and a grown-up and all that is a sure sign that it's not far off."_

"_Oh, funny." He chuckled, placing quick kisses on her lips._

_

* * *

_

"I think I may have been gone for far too long to count as a local anymore."

"You still know all the good hangouts. Oh, I have an idea." She announced, taking his hand and starting to drag him towards the subway station in front of them.

"What, you want to venture the subway?"

"We need to go somewhere."

"Where? If I'm allowed to know and all that." He shook his head, laughing as they started going down the stairs.

"Record shop." Rory turned around and grinned, tilting her head to the side. "Remember? In high school, when I…"

"I know which one you're talking about. You threatened me with your withering stare; it's hard to forget death threats."

"You seem to have survived pretty well so far."

"Barely. Just barely." He laughed, placing a quick kiss on her lips before starting to head towards the correct subway line.

A bit later, as they were travelling towards their destination, Rory put her head on his shoulder, smiling. "I like watching you in New York. You fit here."

"What?" He looked down at her, rubbing her arm.

"It's just…I guess I always think of you when I think of New York. You know what you're doing and where you're going and…you belong."

"Want to know something?"

"Sure."

"I think a part of me always thought I'd somehow end back here."

"I kind of always thought you'd end up back here as well." She shrugged, sitting up and looking at him. "I didn't think you'd ever give it up voluntarily."

"Trust me, I didn't want to."

After a few seconds of silence, she looked at him, smiling. "We still have time to end up here. I mean you and the guys have been talking about expanding for pretty much ever and New York is the most rational place. It could work out."

"Ror, I…" He took a deep breath, still looking at her. "I..."

"This isn't only about you. The Times is here. That's still on the list."

"I know. But we both know it's not just us to think about."

"Would it be that horrible to raise the kid here?"

"I don't know." He shrugged. "It could work. Maybe."

"I'm not saying this is an 'any time soon' sort of plan. But we can think about it."

Standing up, he took her hand and waited for her to walk with him to the door. As soon as they were on the platform, he smiled, his arm going back around her waist.

"We'll talk about it again in a few years. It'll be more complicated to pack up and leave soon."

"I know." She rubbed her bump, smiling at him. "I'm sure we'll find a way."

"Worst that can happen, we add that to the already long list of reasons why that kid will need a therapist before it turns 5."

"Worst case." Rory laughed, kissing his cheek.

"You'd really be ok with us living here? Raising this kid here?" He looked at her as they were walking down the street and she shrugged, smiling.

"I told you, this is about more than you. It would be for me as well. Plus, we'd be closer to Stars Hollow."

Chuckling, he kissed her quickly. "We'll talk about it again someday."

Walking inside the small shop, they started leafing through the stacks of records.

* * *

"Must we do this?"

The next day, Rory was dragging him through a park, making him grumble. Reaching the end, she put her hands on her hips, looking disappointed.

"It's not here."

"Wow. Shocking. A hot dog cart is not in the same place it was 10 years ago."

"But…" She pouted, looking at him. "Ugh. Not fair."

"Does this mean the stupid tour is over or do you plan on dragging me to the freaking bus station as well?"

"No bus station." She turned around, starting to walk slowly towards one of the benches. "I can't even remember which one it was." She shook her head disappointedly, looking at him.

Rolling his eyes and sighing, he pointed to one. "That one."

"How do you remember?"

"I spent a shitload of time on that bench."

Walking to the bench, she sat down on it, looking up at him. "I swear I'm done now."

"It's ok. I've always been told you have to pacify the crazy." He smirked, crouching down in front of her. "You happy now?"

"Yes." She nodded, grinning. "Very happy."

"Good." Cupping her face in his hand, he caressed her cheek gently before standing back up. "Come on, let's find another hot dog stand. You can pretend."

"Thank you." She jumped up from her place, hugging him tightly. "I love you."

"Yeah, yeah." He kissed her temple, running his hand up and down her back, trying to warm her up. Turning around, Rory took her camera out and snapped a picture of the bench before looking back at him, kissing him quickly.

"You have to promise you'll lie to the kid and tell her that that was the actual hot dog stand."

"Why would our kid give a crap about any of this?"

"Because little girls like hearing about this sort of things."

"So you've already decided it's a girl?" He cocked an eyebrow, smirking.

"At least this week it is. And if it's not or just doesn't care, then at least I'll have the pictures and be able to look at them when we're old and gray and I hate your guts and remember that there was a time I actually liked you."

"So you plan on hating me when we're old?"

"Bound to happen, really." She laughed, kissing him. "Go on, food."

Putting his arm on her shoulders and pulling her closer, he started walking in a random direction, trying to get out of the park.

* * *

"I cannot believe you've never been to the top of the Empire State Building!" Rory exclaimed later that night, laughing. "You lived here for ages."

"It's for tourists." He shrugged, cupping her face in his hands and kissing her.

"But it's in every famous New York movie ever made!"

"Yes…hence the 'it's for tourists' thing." He smirked, looking at her as she took a small step towards the edge. "You scared?"

"No!" She answered quickly. "Warhol's _Empire_! _An Affair to Remember_! _King Kong_, Jess! _King Kong_!" She accentuated the last two words, looking at him like he was crazy.

"Yes. And?"

"It's just…how did you never come here?" She took an even smaller step away from him as he watched her, amused.

"Just didn't." He walked to her, taking her hand again as she finally walked to the edge. Leaning to look down, she squeezed his hand tightly as he watched her, smiling softly at her enthusiasm.

"It's perfect." She grinned, turning around and hugging him. "Thank you for indulging me."

"It's fine."

"No, today has been so perfect that I have to thank you for going along with my madness." She whispered in his ear before kissing him.

"It was nothing." He hugged her closer, running his hands up and down her back. "I'm sure I'll get something out of it." He smirked and she pulled back, slapping his chest.

"Sure. You get the amazing privilege of rubbing my feet tonight."

"I'm a lucky man."

"Very lucky." She smiled, kissing him. "Let me take a couple of pictures and then we can head back to the hotel."

"Preferably before we freeze to death."

"I'll try." Giving him another quick kiss, she turned around, pulling out her camera.

A while later, back in their hotel room, Rory looked at Jess, who was sitting on the edge of the bed, flipping through the channels on the TV. Moving closer to him, she started rubbing the back of his neck, kissing his shoulder.

"Jess…?"

"Yeah?" He answered mindlessly, closing his eyes to focus on her hands.

"Can I ask you for a really big favor?" She slid closer, kissing his shoulder again.

"How much am I going to hate it?"

"Probably a lot."

"How much hell will I be in if I say no?"

"No hell." She smiled, running her hands down his back. "It's just…" Biting her lip, she hugged him, a hand playing in his hair. "You know how we really don't have much planned for Friday and I was kind of thinking that we could…um…" She hesitated again, making him twist his neck to look at her.

"We could…what? Because if this is about to turn dirty, I promise I'm not going to hate it."

Laughing, she shook her head. "No. I wanted to…you know what? Forget it." Changing her mind, she pulled back, starting to massage his neck again.

Rolling his eyes, Jess lifted his hands, taking hers in his and moving them away before turning around, putting his legs on the bed. "Say it."

"Jess, it doesn't matter."

"Uh-huh."

"It really doesn't." She tried to argue, smiling. "It was stupid and I am going to forget all about it now."

"Then humor me by telling me what it was so I can laugh at it with you." He smiled back, cupping her face in his hand.

"I don't think it's funny."

"Ror, tell me." He leaned over and kissed her, his thumb caressing her face.

"Show me." She whispered, holding her breath.

"What?" He looked at her, slightly confused.

"Show me what your life was like. Before you came to Stars Hollow."

"What do you want to see?"

"Where you used to live, libraries, book shops, anything that mattered to you."

"It's not pretty." He shrugged, looking into her eyes.

"Would it bother you?"

"Only because it means that I wouldn't get to spend Friday in bed with you either." He smirked, making her laugh.

"How about we skip the museum tomorrow and stay in bed instead?" She offered, kissing the corner of his mouth.

"Offering to skip over important cultural activities to get me in bed…really now, Miss Gi…" He started saying but shook his head, realizing his mistake. "…Mrs. Mariano?"

"Honestly, you'd think you'd know your wife's name." She laughed, cupping his face in her hands before kissing him. "So?"

"We can go." He placed a small kiss her palm, smiling.

"Thank you."

Shooting from his place, he pinned her down between him and the bed, making her laugh. "However, I reserve the right to complain about being out of bed."

"You complain any time we're out of bed."

"What, you going to blame me?" Sliding his hands under her shirt, he smirked, kissing her neck. "Plus look how ridiculously overdressed you are. You really should work harder on making sure I'm happy."

Lifting her head, Rory kissed him, laughing. "I'll give it my best try, husband."

* * *

Friday morning, they got out of a cab in a run-down area. Taking her hand, Jess started leading them towards one of the buildings in the back. When they reached it, he stood in front of it as she wrapped her arm around him, looking at him.

"So…"

"This is it." He pointed to a window. "Over there. For about 3 years."

"That's not long."

"Longest I lived in one place before Philadelphia."

"Home?" She tightened her grip on him, looking up at the window.

"Maybe." Shrugging, Jess kissed her cheek. After a few seconds, he looked back at her. "Can we go?"

"Why?"

"Because we're staring at a window." He chuckled, moving in front of her and placing a quick kiss on her lips. "I have a bookshop for you to see."

"This is…" Shaking her head quickly, she forced a smile, kissing him again.

"This is a shithole. Yes, I'm aware of that."

"Jess, I…" Hugging him close to her, she ran her fingers through his hair. "I don't know what to say."

"You don't have to say anything. Books?" He offered again, tilting his head in the direction of the street the cab had left them on.

"Yes."

Starting to walk again, Jess looked at her, smiling. "Why are you so quiet?"

"It's nothing, Jess." She smiled back, leaning over and kissing his cheek. "Really nothing."

"Rory…"

"I'm just…I don't know." Shaking her head she looked at him. "I'm sorry."

"For?"

"For your life having been this way."

"Ror, you lived in a freaking shed. Trust me, this wasn't all that bad." He pointed out, trying to make her smile.

"Yes, but it's you and yes, it was a shed but mom was there and the Independence and everything and it wasn't that bad. And I really want to not be here right now."

"We can skip the bookshop."

"Is there some place to have coffee instead?"

"None that I'd take you too. Let's cab it out of here."

"We don't have to."

"Hey, this was your idea. However, I'll be damned if I'm going to watch you get all sad because of this on our honeymoon. So we're going to go find a nice place, grab some coffee and something to eat, then buy more books and pretend we don't have a book problem."

"Jess…"

"No more Jess-ing me." He smirked, flagging down a cab down and giving it the address of their hotel. Hugging her in the back seat, he smiled, kissing the top of her head. "It wasn't bad."

"It wasn't what you deserved."

"You're biased."

"I love you, I have to be."

"Rory, you've known for a long time that my life wasn't perfect. It's pretty damn close to that now though, so I don't have any complaints." He smiled, rubbing her arm.

"You're a better person than I am because I'm just…ugh."

"No, I'm not." He chuckled, kissing her head again.

"Sometimes you are." She smiled, remembering the conversation she'd had with her mother about Jimmy. "Sorry about that." Lifting her head, she kissed him.

"About what?"

"Going all sad back there and…ugh, I thought I'd be better with it but I guess I'm just not. Maybe I'm too hormonal to deal with it."

"Then I'll have to make sure I keep you away from things that might potentially make you sad until the kid's born."

"Jess, the cover of your book almost made me cry last week."

"I'll cover them with paper bags then." He offered, pushing a strand of hair behind her ear. "Feeling better?"

"Give me five minutes." She rested her head on his shoulder and he kissed the top of her head again, looking outside the window as the car drove around the city.

"Ror?"

"Hm?" She mumbled, looking up at him.

"Why'd you want to see that?"

"Curious, I guess. You know everything about my childhood, I wanted to see more about yours."

"You knew about all those things too."

"Yes, but I'd never seen them. Thank you for taking me there."

"I'm not sure you have anything to thank me for."

"Yeah, I do." She smiled, looking at him. "Thank you."

"Crazy." Jess chuckled, kissing her softly.


	34. Names, baby

**A/N: I had a ton of fun writing this chapter so I hope you guys enjoy it as much as I did. Also, give me name suggestions and I promise I will do my best to put in as many as I can in the next chapters, since this is very much not decided. **

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**Names, baby**

Sunday night, Rory walked out of the shower as Jess watched her from the bed, a smile playing on his lips. Glancing at him, she smiled as well, putting her hair up.

"Something wrong?"

"Nope. Why?"

"You're staring at me."

"I'm allowed to stare at my wife."

"It's not your usual stare."

Shrugging, he pointed to her abdomen. "I like it."

"The bump?"

"Yeah." He waited for her to get in bed next to him before wrapping his arm around her.

"You only like it because it's still small and cute." Rory ran her fingers down her bump, looking at him. "Wait until I turn into a whale, then you won't like it so much."

"I wouldn't bet on that." He laughed, kissing her neck.

"I will remind you of that comment when I'm the size of a small country."

"Think you may be exaggerating slightly?" He flipped them over, holding himself up with one arm while the other hand started drawing lines on her stomach.

"No, not really." Rory laughed, looking at him.

"And, as caveman like as this may sound, I like knowing that it's my kid that's in there." Ducking down, he kissed her bump quickly.

"Barefoot and pregnant in your kitchen, huh?"

"Something along those lines." Jess smirked, looking up at her. "It's a nice thought."

"I like knowing it's your kid." She ran her fingers through his hair, smiling.

"I'd be worried if you didn't. And possibly very jealous."

"You know better than that. Or should, anyway."

"I'm still allowed to be jealous." Kissing her bump again, he moved closer to her, tightening his grip on her. "Mine."

"Yours." She agreed, laughing. "Both of us."

"Good."

"So…" She drew out the word, trying to assess his mood. "Can I bring up something baby related?"

"Sure." He looked up at her again.

"Names."

"Do we have to do this before we know if it's a boy or a girl? That's what…a month away?"

"Yes. But it will probably take us ages to decide and I don't know…I want to have options for both. Plus it's fun." She grinned, ruffling his hair.

"You have odd ideas of what fun is."

"Humor me, will you?"

"I usually do." He smirked, moving up on the bed, his hand still tracing small circles on her bump.

"Where do we even start?" Rory looked into his eyes, biting her lip.

"I'm going to assume somewhere in that book you've been pretending you're not reading." He glanced at a book on the bottom of the stack of books on the nightstand, making her smile.

"Thank you!" She clapped her hands excitedly, picking up the book carefully. "Also, we need more bookshelves in our next place. This is getting crazy."

"Noted. No random apostrophes in the name and nothing that will require us and the alien to constantly spell it."

"Ok." She nodded, smiling.

"What's on your list so far?"

Opening the book to the first bookmark, she grinned. "Anthony."

"Too long. Give the kid a fighting chance."

"How is it too long?"

"Seriously? You want to name him Anthony Richard Mariano? He'll never go to recess if he has to write that on the board."

"It's a bit long." She agreed, biting her lip. "So we're cutting every first name that's longer that 5-6 letters?"

"Not if they have an acceptably short nickname."

"We could call him Tony."

"Don't like it. Next."

"George?"

"Costanza?" Jess chuckled, shaking his head.

"Off the list." She smiled, kissing him. "How about we go for your favorites and see if any match?"

"Will you hate me for it?"

"Oh, great…which one?"

"Brett." He smirked, pushing a strand of hair behind her ear. "Think about it before you crush my hopes and dreams."

"Jess, we cannot give our daughter a boy's name!"

Taking the book out of her hands, he flipped through the pages until he found it. "Unisex."

"Seriously? How are we going to explain it to the poor kid when she asks why she shares a name with at least one little boy in her class? And that sports guy!"

"Dad's a Hemingway buff and mom really, really loves him?" Jess chuckled, kissing her.

"Not so much at this moment, I must say."

"We can give her a very girly middle name and, if she hates Brett so much, she can go by that."

"We can have Brett as a middle name."

"No one uses those." He pointed out, making her laugh. "Also, I have two more arguments for you: Brett Somers. Brett Butler."

"Fine, you found two more women with that name. That doesn't mean…"

"I know. I just think it's a cute name."

"Ashley. Girl's name and still uses the same character."

"Ugh." He grimaced, smirking. "Too valley girl."

"Yeah, there is that."

"Plus, Brett would help her rock the leather jacket your mom got for Christmas."

"No one would know she's a girl." Rory pouted, looking at him.

"You can put her in ever dress imaginable and add bows to her hair. And if she looks like you, and let's hope she does, she'll be far too pretty to be confused with a boy."

"Oh, smooth."

"I know, right?" He chuckled, kissing her. "Just think about it."

"I'm not promising anything."

"It's fine."

"I can't even think of a middle name that would work with that."

"Ashley?" He chuckled, making her pick up a pillow and smack him with it.

"Now you're pushing it."

"Always."

"Grandma would hate it." Rory realized, looking at him.

"Added bonus." He smirked, taking the pillow from her and kissing her. "We can use Lorelai for a middle name."

"But if we do, then she will never be able to go by her middle name if she hates Brett because there's already too many of us."

"Two middle names?" Jess offered, chuckling.

"But heaven forbid we name him Anthony because that's too long!" Laughing, she kissed him quickly. "I'll think about it."

"Thank you."

"I don't suppose you'd be willing to use Brett for a boy?"

"Nope." He shook his head. "It's a girl's name."

"Only in your head." Rory stuck out her tongue, messing up his hair. "Any other names you'd like to use?"

"If you're horribly opposed to Brett, how about Catherine?"

"Jess, I said I am considering it, but you have to get over your Hemingway obsession."

"Why?" He grinned, placing quick kisses on her lips, making her laugh.

"Because."

"Good argument, flawless logic. Go on, what else is on your list?"

"Boys or girls?"

"Boys. It's easier to pick if we have a middle name." He shrugged, sitting up on the bed and picking up the book.

"Michael? Nice, classic, not out there…"

"Won't get us on any horrible baby names list. I hate Mike, though."

"We don't have to use Mike."

"No, but he might want to." Rubbing her bump, he smiled.

"Ah! Next you're going to tell me it's going to have a personality." She laughed, looking at him.

"I hope not, this parenting thing sounds difficult enough without the kid getting in the way."

"What's on your boy list? Let me guess…Robert? Jake?" She made a face, making him chuckle.

"You forgot Frederic."

"No, I didn't." Shaking her head, she sat up as well, leaning over to him and kissing him. "So? What names do you like?"

"David?"

"David Richard Mariano. Sounds…oddly nice." She smiled, looking down at her bump. "Should we talk about Lucas?"

"Naming the kid after one relative is more than enough. We'll save that for the next one."

"Oh, so now we're having another one, are we?"

"Maybe." Jess smiled, kissing her. "We'll have to do it right at some point-you know, actually plan it and stuff." Leaning closer to her ear, he placed a small kiss on it. "Plus, I believe I've made it clear enough that I think you're incredibly hot when pregnant."

Smiling as well, she pulled back, looking into his eyes. "What if we suck at being parents?"

"Then we're sending it to boarding school. See? Easy solution."

"Jess…" She laughed, cupping his face in her hands and kissing him. "I love you, crazy man."

"Are you opposed to having another one?" He ran his hand over her bump, still smiling.

"Ask me again when I've forgotten all about morning sickness, ok?"

"Ok." Nodding, he kissed her, his fingers playing in her hair.

"Garden of Eden!" She exclaimed, pulling back.

"Fuck."

"Thought I wouldn't figure it out, did you?"

"I had hopes." Jess chuckled, lying on the bed again. "But you have to admit it's a good name."

"I will consider one Hemingway name, not two."

"Oh, go on, it's a good name. Just…ignore the Hemingway connection."

"Edward."

"After the fucking Twilight explosion? No way. Plus Ed? Ugh." He grimaced, shaking his head.

"But Rochester!" She tried to argue, making him shake his head harder.

"See my previous argument. Allen."

"Don't like it. Jack?" She suggested, tilting her head to the side. "Works well with Richard."

"It's short enough."

"I'll add it on the maybe list." Picking up a pen from the bedside table, she quickly wrote it down on a post-it, attaching it to the front cover.

"I'll assume that means David's a no go then?"

"Um…" Hesitating slightly, she added the name to the list. "It's a good name."

"Thank you." He kissed her, smiling. "Henry."

"I don't think it works for a little boy."

"We'll give him a ridiculous nickname. Call him Sport until he turns 15."

"You're insane."

"And you're sane?"

"I'm…saner."

"Sure." He laughed, pulling her down on the bed next to him. "Anaïs. Middle name for the girl."

"No one will know how to pronounce it."

"Because they're idiots."

"I'm not disagreeing." Rory laughed, placing quick kisses on his lips. "With or without the umlaut?"

"If we're ruining her life, might as well go completely. Plus, middle name argument again. No one actually uses them."

"You're only saying that because you don't have one."

"Well, Lizzie was too bored to come up with more than one name. So?"

"Brett Anaïs." She smiled, looking at him. "I like the way it sounds."

"You're starting to like Brett, aren't you?"

"It's growing on me. She'll never live up to that name, you know that, right?"

"We'll try our best."

"Jacob?"

"See Twilight comment."

"What about Sophia?"

"Or Sophie?"

"Both are nice."

"I think I like Sophie better." Jess shrugged, smirking. "Brett Sophie."

"No." Rory suddenly shook her head. "BS?"

"Didn't think of that." He chuckled, shaking his head as well. "No."

"Rose?"

"Too Titanic."

"Like you've ever seen that!"

"Too many people have. No way."

"She'll hate us if we name her Anaïs."

"She'll hate us anyway." Jess laughed, moving back down and kissing her bump.

"I hope not."

"Fine, she'll just hate me then."

"She's not allowed to hate you either." Rory smiled, running her hand through his hair. "She'll need someone to run to when I'm being unreasonable and mean."

"Oh, yeah, 'cause I am clearly going to be on her side when she decides she wants to jump on some bus and go see a boy in New York."

"Jess…" She laughed and he shook his head.

"Locked in her room until she turns 18, I'm telling you."

"Which will just lead to her not telling us anything about her life. I refuse to be Emily and Richard to her."

"Well, good, because that'd mean we'd have to change our names. And it might be confusing."

"You know what I mean."

"Yeah, I do." He looked up at her, more serious than before. "We'll try our best."

"You'll take her down the stairs at her debutante ball?"

"If she wants to. I like to think that she'll mock the hell out of the concept of coming out into society, but you know…"

"So you wouldn't wear a tux for our wedding, but you'd wear one for your daughter's coming out."

"I would have worn one if you had insisted. However, you do have to admit it would have been a bit too pretentious for our wedding."

"Maybe. And the trade was worth it."

"What about Dominique?" He smiled, pushing a strand of hair behind her ear.

"You're giving me a Rand name?"

"You're considering Brett, I might as well do the same."

"It's too long and French. Dagny?"

"At least one normal name. Seriously, we might as well go for Ayn."

"You say that like it would be the worst thing in the world."

He shook his head. "No."

"Oh, go on, consider it."

"I have. No."

"For more than two seconds."

"No. Everyone will think we're demented political nuts."

"Oh, sure, 'cause she's that famous."

"No, but anyone who knows who she is will think that."

"There is that."

"So?"

"Fine, Ayn's off the list." Rory sighed, shaking her head. "Damn you, Catherine's starting to grow on me as well."

"More than Anaïs?"

"I'll have to ask mom's opinion on that one, it might be a bit too out there."

"What, she has to approve of our name choice?"

"No, but she's not a book nerd. Ingrid!"

"No." Jess shook his head, kissing her quickly. "Also no on Ilsa."

"Fine." She sighed, trying to pout. "Audrey?"

"It's cute. Oh, shit that'll make her initials BAM."

"And?"

"Makes me think of Bam-Bam from _The Flintstones_."

"That takes Anaïs out as well."

"We gave it a good try."

"June?"

"She's a horrible character."

"Henry Miller loved her!"

"Sure, 'cause he always made great decisions. No. Also, you don't seriously want our daughter's initials to be BJ, do you?" He laughed, kissing her.

"I really did not think of that. However, Henry's starting to really sound better and better to me." Rory smiled, running her fingers over her abdomen.

"Really? Because I'm more partial to David."

"What about Jack?"

"Weren't we discussing girls?"

"We've moved on."

"I need coffee to keep up." He chuckled, sitting up on the bed. "Want some?"

"Yes, please." She stood up, picking up the book again from the bed and started walking towards the kitchen. "Nicholas?"

"Isn't Nick too Hemingway for you?"

"Not overbearingly so. Ugh, _Little Nicky_."

"It's official, movies have used every single good name out there." Jess smirked, starting to clean the coffee pot. "What about Maria?"

"Hm?" Rory kissed his shoulder before putting two mugs next to the coffee machine.

"For a girl. Feeds both my alleged Hemingway obsession and your Ingrid Bergman love."

"Holly. Feeds my Audrey love and has nothing to do with Hemingway. Or we could just call her Audrey Brett and call it a day, since you don't like it for a middle name." She grinned, sitting down on and watching him as he walked around the kitchen, getting coffee ready. "Maria is a copout middle name. Like Anne. People use them when they can't think of anything better."

"But it's girly enough. And it's not a bad name. Plus, I think Mary is the fits-all name."

"What about Holly?"

"Nope. Went out with a Holly once, she pissed me off."

"Oh, is this the time I find out details about your dating life?" Rory laughed as he dropped two mugs filled with decaf on the table.

"No." He shook his head, smirking. Crouching down in front of her, he put his arms on her knees, looking up into her eyes. "Remember last time you started questioning me?"

"Did not go over well." She grimaced, running her fingers through his hair.

"You don't actually think it will go better now, do you?"

"Probably not." She shook her head, leaning down and placing a quick kiss on his forehead. "Thank you for the coffee."

"No problem. Where were we?"

"I was getting ready to throw things at your head for convincing me Brett is a good name for our daughter." She laughed softly, as he pulled a chair closer to hers, smirking.

"It is a good name."

"You're biased."

"Yes." He admitted, chuckling. "We can just debate boy names until you've made up your mind on whether or not you like it enough to stick to it."

"Ok." Looking over the list stuck to the cover of the book, she added two more names to it. "So we agree on Jack, Henry, David and Nick. Oh, Alex!"

"Too many of them. I know at least three."

"And you think Jack is less popular?"

"Probably not, but I like it more."

"Ok." She smiled, squeezing his hand. "Any other names you like?"

"Not really, but I haven't thought about this that much."

"You haven't though what you'd like to name your son?"

"Girls name their future kids, guys don't."

"Jess, you've known about our baby for almost three months!"

"Yes. But it's not like it's been the only thing on my mind." Pointing to her ring, he smirked. "There was the minor issue of getting married to occupy my brain with. And dealing with you."

"Oh, forgive me for having been so impossible that you didn't have time to think about anything else." She huffed, crossing her arms across her chest.

"Ror, you know that's not what I meant." Sighing, he tried to put his hand on her knee but she jerked it away. "Don't be mad. Please."

"Why? Will it give you more arguments on why I'm unreasonable and impossible to deal with?"

"Rory…" He pleaded with her softly but she just shook her head.

"I'm sorry this is so hard for you. I'll make sure I'm a freaking ray of sunshine from now on to give you time to think about things."

"Things like how the hell this night got derailed by a fight?"

"Things like whatever you have that's so important to think about!"

Exhaling loudly, Jess ran his hand through his hair, leaning back in his chair, his eyes never leaving her. After a few minutes, she looked back at him, smiling weakly.

"I'm sorry."

"It's ok."

"I swear I'm not crazy."

"Yeah, you are." He chuckled softly, leaning over and kissing her. "Better?"

"I have no idea what happened there." She rolled her eyes, laughing as well. "But yes, better."

"Are we going back to talking names?"

"No." Rory shook her head, standing up and taking his hand. "I'm tired and I've missed sleeping in our bed these past two weeks."

"What about the coffee?"

"Decaf sucks anyway." She grinned and he stood up, hugging her close to him.

"I didn't mean to make you mad."

"I don't think it was you." Kissing him, she smiled, running her fingers through his hair. "Let's go to bed."


	35. Babies shouldn't live in closets

**A/N: Thank you for the reviews, you guys rock. And because shameless self-promotion is one of my principles in life, ****go check out my new story, "A Tale of Buses and Goodbyes", if you haven't already done so.**

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**Babies shouldn't live in closets **

Picking up the phone a few days later, Rory waited for her mother to pick up, tapping her foot impatiently, a cup of decaf in her hand.

"_Hey, kid, what's up?"_

"Brett!"

"_What?"_ Lorelai asked, confused.

"Brett! That's what Jess wants to name our baby!"

"_It's not bad."_ She shrugged.

"For a girl?"

"_What?"_

"That's the name if she's a girl!" Sighing frustrated, Rory sipped from her mug. "We were talking baby names a couple of days ago and he said he really likes Brett for a girl and I'm supposed to think about it and it's stupid Hemingway's fault!"

"_It's…interesting."_

"Exactly. And every time he says it, he has this stupid smile on his lips and he looks so happy and it just makes me be all stupid and hormonal so I need an outsider's opinion on this."

"_What do you think?"_

"I don't know, I do think it's cute and I really love how Brett Catherine…"

"_Deneuve?"_

"No, his other name suggestion. She needs a very girly middle name if we do go for Brett and I like it." Putting the mug down, Rory rubbed her bump, smiling. "So, as the outsider, how much will our daughter hate us if we name her Brett?"

"_I'm not an outsider. I'm the grandmother, I can't be objective."_

"Does that mean you hate it?"

"_No."_ Grinning, Lorelai shook her head. _"I think it fits my idea of what Jess' kid would be named. And it actually is cute."_

"So she won't hate us?"

"_Of course she will, she has to. Kids are supposed to hate you."_

"I never hated you."

"_Really? Because you did a very good job at convincing me you did a couple of times."_

"I was a teenager."

"_Point is, no matter what you do, she won't like you all the time. And if this means that much to Jess, you should at least seriously think about it."_

"But won't she have to go her entire life going 'Yes, I'm a girl. My parents were just crazy.'?"

"_As opposed to 'Yes, my parents are technically cousins. No, I don't have any extra toes, it's not like that.', which is what she's going to say all her life anyway?" _

"Mom…" Rory laughed, rubbing her bump again.

"_What are you worried about the most?"_

"That kids will give her a hard time, I suppose."

"_What for?"_

"For having a boy's name."

"_Hon, so do you."_ Lorelai chuckled, shaking her head. _"Name her whatever you guys want. Brett is cute. She'll rock the leather jacket."_

"That's what Jess said." Smiling, Rory drank from her mug again. "Anyway, it's not like we don't have enough time to decide on this."

"_What else is on the list?"_

"For girls, that's about it. We had Audrey and Anaïs for a while, but that'd make her initial BAM and Jess doesn't like it. For boys, there's David, Henry and Jack."

"_I like David, but there's Sookie's Davey and Lane's ex, Dave. And Anaïs?" _

"She's a writer. What, too out there? And ugh, now you've taken David off the list."

"_A bit out there." _

Walking into the room, Jess kissed her cheek, mouthing 'your mom?' before picking up a cup from the cupboard and pouring coffee in it. Nodding, Rory drank from her mug.

"_Oh, what about Sabrina? Holly? Eliza?"_

"Mom…"

"_Ann! Gabrielle!"_

"You're going through every single character Audrey Hepburn's ever played, aren't you?"

"_Well, I am not having another child and I stupidly wasted my chance when I named you with my feminist manifesto. Someone has to honor Audrey the way she's supposed to be honored."_

"I did propose Ingrid but Jess shot me down."

"_Heathen!"_

"I know, right?"

"No." Jess shook his head, drinking from his mug.

"I was not talking to you." Rory glanced at him, grinning.

"_What's the hoodlum saying now?"_

"He's still not aware of Ingrid's greatness."

"I am not discussing this again." He smirked and she picked up an apple from the counter, throwing it at him but he caught it before it hit him.

"Damn you."

"_What's going on?"_

"Jess is being Jess." She snickered. "I'm going to go, mom. I'll see you in a couple of weeks."

"_No, it's too long! Move back here!"_

"Goodbye, mom. Love you."

"_Love you too, kid."_

Putting the phone on the counter, Rory walked up to Jess, wrapping her arm around him and hugging him.

"How was your day?"

"I want a new job. One where I can sit around and do nothing all day."

"Get in line."

Kissing her temple, Jess smirked. "Your day?"

"Long. David's off the list."

"Why?"

"Too many Daves already."

"Ok. And just calling him David…?"

"I'm sorry." Rory shrugged, placing a quick kiss on his lips. "But Jack is starting to sound better and better."

"Why?"

"Dawkins." She grinned, looking at him.

"Is a pickpocket really the best person to name our son after?"

"'Cause Kerouac is such a great role model."

"At least it's not the Ripper."

"We're sad, sad people."

"Very likely." Ducking down, he kissed her bump, smiling. "Kid, you've so picked the wrong family."

"Hey, could have been worse!"

"Worse than us naming him after whatever writer and/or literary character we happen to really like the week it's born?"

"Like we could ever agree to a writer for an entire week."

"There are precedents."

"Not many." Rory laughed, ruffling his hair. "What are you making for dinner?"

"What do you want?"

"Food."

"How very helpful."

"Anything. I'm starving." Hoping up on a counter, she watched him open the fridge, looking through it.

"Pizza?"

"Anything but pizza." She grinned, grabbing a peach from the basket and taking a bite out of it.

"Is it anything but pasta as well? Because if it is, we're doing take-away, since there's nothing in here."

"Pasta sounds good. Does this mean we have to go shopping?"

"Yes. We can go tomorrow after work."

"Can't, have a house viewing."

"When did that happen?" Jess turned around, looking at her. "And why did I not know about it?"

"You know about it now." Chewing on the peach, she smiled.

"Which place?"

"One of them. I can't keep track."

"Helpful." Starting to chop on some vegetables, he looked at her, smirking. "Anything else I should know about?"

"Nope. Still waiting for the other agencies to call back. And watch what you're doing before you chop your fingers off."

"Ror, I'm a grown up. There's no need to watch me every second."

"I need someone to practice on."

"Not me, please. Have some more coffee, that will keep you distracted." Dropping the knife, he refilled her mug before dropping it next to her.

"Thank you." She grabbed his hand, not giving him a chance to walk away and kissed him quickly.

"You're welcome." Placing his hands on her waist, he pulled her closer to the edge of the counter, kissing her again.

"Jess, dinner!"

"Uh-huh." He mumbled, starting to trail kisses down her neck.

"Jess…"

"Going." After placing one last kiss on her lips, he went back to the chopping board. "So, we're really moving forward with this house thing, aren't we?"

"We have to. After we find a place, we still have to sign everything, pack, move in, baby proof, unpack again. That's on top of work and baby appointments. What if we have to paint?"

"You mean what if I have to paint. Like everything else on your list, because you are not allowed to do anything."

"Jess!"

"Nope. I don't care, you're sitting this one out. Ignoring the painting issue, which for the record, no freaking way you're even going to be close when it happens, I don't want you doing anything that could hurt you or the baby in any way."

"You're overprotective."

"Ror, I am going to do anything I can to make sure nothing bad happens. If you think that makes me overprotective, fine, but I really don't even want to think of how we'd deal if something went wrong."

"Don't say that." Rubbing her stomach, she bit her lip.

"You're not doing anything but pointing at things so that your slave here can paint, pack, carry stuff and whatever else you need doing."

"Ok."

"You're going to fight me again on this when it actually comes time to move, aren't you?"

"Very likely. But you referring to yourself as my slave is very good." She smiled. "Also, I really love you for being overprotective and taking care of us."

"Someone's got to. What did your mom say about Brett?"

"It's cute and I should think about it."

"And?"

"Jess, I'm considering it. Just…give me a few more days."

"Ok. Did anything new make the list, now that David's off?"

"Any chances to sell you on Oliver?"

"No." He chuckled, turning on the cooker. "Olivia however…"

"Newton-John?"

"Pass."

"Ok." Opening the book, she picked up a couple of post-its from the front page, looking at him. "Hand me a pen."

"You need to get over this idea of yours that I carry a pen with me everywhere." Jess smirked, picking up a pen from his pocket at the same time and throwing it at her.

"I only think that because it's true. So Jack and Henry are still on, right?"

"Right."

"Noah?"

"Noah Richard Mariano? It sounds…"

"Odd, yeah." She sighed, crossing the name off the list. "Nathan?"

"What, you went through the N list today? Don't like it."

"Daniel?"

"What if he likes Dan?"

"Do you just hate nicknames?"

"Not all of them." Jess shrugged, dropping the pasta in the pot of boiling water. "I like Nick."

"I told you why it's out. But seriously, you've shot down a lot of names because you didn't like the nicknames."

"I just think it's pointless. If you're going to name a child something, just name it that, don't go for the full freaking name only to call him something else."

"Jess…?"

"Yeah, I know. You're an exception." Checking to see the food was ok, he stepped closer to her, giving her quick kiss. "Told you I don't hate all nicknames. Plus there's a good reason for not calling you Lorelai."

"It would put you in therapy?"

"Very likely. I don't want to think about your mother the same way I think about you."

"Remind me to show you pictures of great-grandma. That will make it even more disgusting."

"Gee, you're great." He chuckled, pushing a strand of hair behind her ear before going back to his cooking.

"I know. Caitlyn."

"Nope."

"Why not?"

"Dated a Caitlyn once." Jess smirked, looking at her.

"How many names are off the list because of women you dated?"

"Pleading the fifth."

"Smartass." Drinking from her coffee, she smiled. "Chloe?"

"Put it on the list. And focus on boys names from now on."

"Why?"

"Because it's stupid trying to pick a name when we don't even know if it's a first or middle name."

"Fine." Sighing, Rory started flipping through the book again. "Gabriel."

"Too…something."

"Awesome argument, genius. Oh, can we just call him Rick?"

"That doesn't mean we don't need another name."

"No one needs a middle name anyway." Rory snickered. "Stanley?"

"No."

"Stella."

"No."

"Blanche."

"No."

"But it's a classic!"

"No."

"Jett."

"Now you're freaking kidding me." He chuckled, shaking his head.

"Sam?"

"Which one?"

"Spade."

"No."

"Do you hate the name or Humphrey?"

"Name." Turning off the stove, he walked to her. "Dinner's ready."

"I'll bring the book, we can continue this fun."

Taking the book away from her, Jess smirked, closing it. "I'm bored."

"Jess, we're naming our child."

"I'm sure sometime in the next months we'll reach an agreement. Now go sit down, I thought you were starving."

"I am starving."

"So?" He smirked and she shook her head, hopping off the counter.

"We're not done with this conversation." Wrapping her arms around him, she kissed him quickly.

"I know."

"Fine, food." Kissing him one more time, she grabbed both of the coffee cups, refilling them before sitting down at the table.

* * *

The next afternoon, they walked back in their apartment. Kissing Rory's temple, Jess pointed at the kitchen.

"Coffee?"

"No." She pouted, sitting down on the couch. Taking a deep breath, Jess sat down next to her, waiting for her to lie down, resting her head in his lap.

"That house was…"

"Horrible?" He smirked, running his fingers through her hair.

"Pretty much, yeah. It was tiny and cramped and there was no room for anything and why did that lady keep talking about babies and how good that room would be for a child!"

"Ror, she was…"

Sitting up on the couch, she took a deep breath. "And did you see that room? It was a closet! No, I've seen bigger closets! Mom's bathroom is bigger! Like I'm going to stick our baby in a freaking closet!"

"Rory, she didn't mean anything by it."

"Oh, yeah, she did. I mean what kind of a parent does she think would put their child in a closet? Do I really look that awful and horrible that I would want it to be in a room where we couldn't even fit a crib and a changing table at the same time?"

"I highly doubt that house is a slam on your parenting skills."

"Yes, it was!"

"Ror?" He smiled and she shook her head, kissing him.

"If she ever calls again…"

"You don't have to talk to her."

"We're not buying a house from her. I don't care if she finds us the greatest place on Earth, we are never dealing with her again. Ever."

"Ok."

"You're calm! How can you be calm when she assumed we're the worst parents on earth? Brett is going to have everything, not a freaking closet!"

"She didn't assume anything. She was doing her job. She has to be happy and smile stupidly and pretend it's the greatest place on earth."

"I'm pissed off."

"Really? I couldn't tell." Taking her hand, he pulled her into a hug, tangling his hand in her hair and kissing her temple. "We're not taking the house. It's not worth wasting the energy."

"Ranting is not wasting energy. It's productive!"

"Ok." He smiled, kissing her temple again.

"I hate her."

"I know."

"She's horrible."

"Uh-huh."

"Stop agreeing to everything I say."

"I did not agree to everything you said."

"Well, you're agreeing now so stop it."

"No?" He chuckled, pulling back and kissing her. Smiling, Rory lied back down on the couch, her hand resting on her bump.

"It's ok, baby, you'll have a good room. No stupid closet."

After a few seconds, he pushed her hair away, looking down at her. "Ror?"

"Yeah?"

"You called it Brett."

Sitting up on the bed, she cupped his face in her hand, grinning. "If she hates it, I am going to tell her it's your fault."

"Fine."

"And we still need to pick a middle name. That is not Ashley!"

"Fine." He smiled, kissing her palm.

"And I am keeping Catherine as a last case scenario, even if I like it."

"Also fine."

"And when grandma goes on a rant, you will be there, helping me defend the choice."

"See above."

"I love you." She smiled, crushing her mouth to his.

"What…"

"Because you're happy and I really, really like seeing you like this."

"I love you too." He placed quick kisses on her lips, smiling. "Thank you."

"You don't have anything to thank me for." Lying back down on the couch, she placed her hands on her bump, grinning. "Hey, baby Brett."

"Now you're convinced it's a girl?"

"I think so."

"Will you be disappointed if it's not?" Smoothing down her hair, he looked at her.

"No. I don't care what it is, as long as it's healthy and looks like you." Rory laughed, closing her eyes to enjoy the feeling of his fingers playing in her hair. "I just think it's a girl."

"So, pink tea parties?"

"Pink tea parties…"


	36. Playing house

**A/N: Thank you for the reviews. You guys all rock. Really, you're awesome. **

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* * *

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**Playing house**

A week or so later, Jess and Rory were in their living room, sitting on the couch. Flipping her computer towards him, she pointed at the screen.

"This one?"

"The description says charming. That means tiny."

"We don't need a big house."

"Do you want me to remind you of your closet rant? Or the bathroom rant? Or any of the rants I've had to sit through in the past week because you hated every single place we've seen?"

"You didn't like any of them either."

"So that means we have to go see every house we can find, just in case?"

"Jess, this is impossible. We need to find a place."

"Really? I don't remember you mentioning that before."

"I don't remember you moaning about me mentioning it before either." She grinned, ruffling his hair. "So, not calling this place?"

"Screw it, give them a call. Might as well try it."

"Our phone bills are going to be huge."

"Yours. I don't think I've been allowed to talk to any of them."

"Well, you're not nice to anyone but me on the phone."

"I am nice if I have to be. And I am not complaining about you dealing with them. Just figured I'd make a general observation."

"Ok, I'll give them a call tomorrow. I also have a meeting with some other agent and she's going to bring some enormous folder for me to look through. I'll call you if I find anything nice and tell you when and where."

"I can take off work and come join you."

"The guys wouldn't mind?"

"I'll put in extra hours on Friday."

"We have dinner with the grandparents on Friday."

"I'll skip dinner?" He smirked, leaning over and kissing her quickly.

"In your dreams, punk." Rory laughed, moving closer to him. "Plus, I kind of want to tell them about the baby's name. And you have to be there for that."

"What, you're anxious to hear Emily going crazy?"

"I was thinking about the other name. That will appease her when she hates Brett."

"So, what's the alien supposed to be today?"

"You're mocking me." Rory stuck out her tongue, rubbing her bump. "Your dad's being mean."

"Hey, no turning our unborn child against me." Tackling her down to the couch, he rested a hand on her stomach before placing a soft kiss on it. "Your mom's crazy."

"Don't say that like it's a bad thing." She ran her fingers through his hair, looking down at him. "And I think it's back to being a girl."

"It's just great that you change your mind daily."

"It keeps you on your toes."

"I'll get some ballet shoes." He smirked, moving up and kissing her. "I'll skip lunch, leave early tomorrow if there's nothing requiring my attention to meet you and look at houses, then go back and put in overtime. Last offer."

"See, this is why you need an office. You could work from home."

"I thought we agreed we were going to share the office. You put in as much overtime as I do."

"No, I don't. You're always writing and editing and fixing whatever disaster's happening with the magazine."

"We're sharing the office." Jess smiled, kissing her again.

"We'll put in an extra desk that I will never use and call it a day. Just as soon as we find a house that has an office."

"We will."

"What if we don't?"

"Then we'll stick the child in a drawer."

"Sounds like a plan. Adding that to the list of reasons why we'll pay for therapy?"

"It's getting very long."

"Dirty!" Rory giggled, making him shake his head.

"You're your mother."

"Thank you."

"I'm not convinced I meant that as a compliment."

"I'm choosing to take it as one. So, you're ok with telling grandma and grandpa this Friday?"

"Sure. Your family, your choice."

"Hey, they're now your extended family as well."

"Please don't bring that up, I am trying very hard to ignore that aspect. And can we go to bed now? I'm tired. Long day."

"Why can't you go by yourself?"

"Because if you stay awake for much longer, you'll be tired and grumpy tomorrow, which you'll take out on me. Plus, I like sleeping next to my wife."

"What did you do before you had a wife?" She smiled, her fingers running through his hair.

"Slept next to my fiancée. And before that girlfriend."

"And before that?"

"Whatever random girl was generous enough…"

"Stop there."

"So?" He smirked, placing a small kiss on her collarbone.

"I'll go take a shower and then come facilitate the sleeping process."

"How about I come facilitate the showering process?"

"I thought you were tired."

"Never that tired."

"Come on then, Mister." Standing up, she grabbed his hand, walking towards their bedroom.

* * *

Friday evening, they were all gathered in the Gilmore's living room. Sitting down and handing Richard a glass, Emily smiled.

"I loved the paper on your thank you notes, Rory."

"You recommended the place, grandma. I assumed you would."

Ignoring the comment, she sipped from her drink. "And very prompt. Unlike your mother."

"5 years later I am still hearing about this."

"It took two whole months for the note to arrive. You shouldn't keep your guests waiting that long."

"If I ever get married again, I'll send them on the wedding night, ok? You know, stop the fun and just get down to writing."

"Don't be irrational, Lorelai."

"Mom, even Emily Post says I have three months. I should know, I checked. I got them done in plenty of time."

"I still say it was too long."

Sighing exasperated, Lorelai turned to her daughter. "So, how's the house search going?"

"Badly. We saw close to a million places this week and they all stink." Rory looked at Jess, smiling. "I'm hoping we can find something in the next few weeks so we can move before I get ridiculously huge."

"You're not going to lift a finger during the entire move." Luke threatened from his seat, looking at her.

"Are you related to your nephew by any chance?" Laughing, Rory shook her head.

"Rory, you have to take these things seriously." Richard looked at his granddaughter.

"I am, don't worry. I'll ask my doctor next time I see her what I can or cannot do in the move."

"Nothing. Easy answer." Jess smirked, looking at his wife.

"Stubborn." She smiled back at him, shaking her head.

"When is your next appointment?" Emily chimed in.

"Two weeks from Thursday. We get to find out the sex of the baby." Clapping her hands excitedly, she looked at her mother.

"Still think it's a girl?"

"Most of the time."

"Have you decided on any names you like?" Emily asked, looking at her granddaughter.

"Right now we've mostly settled on Brett for a girl. We have a long list of middle names, but we haven't picked one yet. I think Emma and Ava are at the top of our very long list today."

"That's…" Emily looked at them.

"Unusual, yes, we know." Taking Jess' hand, Rory smiled, cutting the woman off before she could finish her sentence. "For a boy, I think we keep discussing Jack and Henry but we've kind of had a middle name picked for a couple months now, so that's not a problem."

"Are you going to tell us or keep it a secret? Tracy Gunderson's daughter walked around for the entire 9 months she was pregnant going on and on about how she had a name all planned but wasn't going to tell anyone, even though no one was asking her about…"

"Grandma, it's not a secret." Squeezing Jess' hand tighter, she looked at her grandfather, grinning. "It's Richard."

"Richard?" Emily whispered, looking at Rory.

"Yeah."

"Rory, that's…" Richard looked at his granddaughter, smiling. Getting up from the couch, she walked to the man, wrapping her arms around him.

"I love you, grandpa."

"I love you too, Rory."

"That's very sweet of you. Both of you." Emily smiled as soon as Rory sat back down. "I can ask my agent to recommend someone in Philadelphia."

"What?" Rory asked, confused, looking at her grandmother.

"To help you find a house."

"Oh, sorry, I thought…"

"I saw some lovely places when I was looking for something to get you as a wedding present. I'm sure with the right person helping you, you'll be able to find something soon."

"Dinner's ready, Mrs. Gilmore." The maid announced, walking into the room.

"I'll talk to her and give you a phone number." Emily announced before standing up and walking in the dining room.

* * *

The next day, they were in the diner with Lorelai and Will in a high chair, having breakfast.

"So, last night? Was it just me or was grandma odd?" Rory looked at her mother. "The way she just went back to talking houses…?"

"Rory, mom is…well, mom. Showing emotion is just now done in her world."

"At least grandpa seemed happy."

"Actually, dare I say it, they both seemed happy."

"Next thing you know, grandma will like you." Rory smiled, kissing Jess' shoulder quickly.

"I wouldn't go that far, I don't think she's capable of liking me."

"I think she's warming up to you. You guys are married now, there's not much she can do."

"Maybe someday she'll warm up to me enough that I can stop drinking that disgusting scotch." Jess chuckled.

"Just ask for something else." Rory tried to reassure him but he just shook his head.

"No way. I remember the way that went last time I tried it. She looked at me like I was scum the entire night."

"Your drink choice is probably the only thing keeping you from having to use the servants' entrance so you better get used to drinking that for the rest of your life." Lorelai grinned, looking from him to Rory. "What are your plans for today?"

"Going to hang out with Lane and then drop by the inn to see Sookie and Michel and everyone else. Basically enjoy my first official visit to Stars Hollow as a married woman."

"Should I ask Sookie to make you anything?"

"Bacon. Covered in chocolate, preferably."

"Ha! The cravings have begun." Lorelai gloated victoriously.

"A few days ago. It's pretty much been bacon central in our house this week."

"Why did I not know about this? And is he taking good care of you?"

"Yes." Rory nodded, squeezing Jess' hand under the table. "He's incredible."

"I'm far too scared to not comply with everything she asks of me." Jess smirked, running his thumb over her hand.

"Nice!" Grinning, Lorelai sipped from her cup. "He's so very well trained."

"Oh, stop whining. You're not that tortured."

"I refuse to answer that comment." He chuckled, kissing her quickly.

"Innocent baby eyes here, people."

"It's not like we were preparing our audition for an X rated movie, mom." Rory laughed, smoothing the Will's hair down.

"Dirry!" The boy grinned, banging with a spoon on his tray.

"Lorelai, what is our son saying?" Luke dropped a plate of pancakes on the table, looking at his wife.

"I had nothing to do with it!" Picking up William, she placed a small kiss on the top of his head, smiling sweetly at her husband. "You love me, really."

"Just keep him away from coffee."

"10!"

"18!"

"We'll debate this again when he's 12." Lorelai laughed as the little boy extended his arms towards her cup. "See, he wants it."

"He was also trying to eat his plate this morning. I don't think you can base any decisions on what he does."

"Luke, can I get so bacon with these?" Rory pointed at the plate with her fork, chewing on a piece of pancake.

"Hey, those were mine!" Lorelai grumbled but her daughter shrugged.

"Too late. You snooze, you lose."

"I'll bring out more pancakes and bacon." Luke smiled, leaning down and kissing his wife quickly. "No coffee! Jess?"

"I'll pretend to attempt to stop her if she tries anything."

"Great help you are."

"Luke, bacon!" Rory grumbled again, pouring some maple syrup on the pancakes.

"What are you going to do all day, Jess?" Lorelai looked at the young man, picking up a toy from her bag and waving it in front of her child to keep him occupied.

"I need to edit."

"Anything fun?" Rory mumbled between bites.

"Not really. Some of Chris' stuff that he passed on to me since he's out this weekend."

"Oh, what's he doing?"

"Visiting his family."

"Annual visit time already? Man, times go by fast." Lorelai smiled, picking up a fork and trying to poke the pancakes, but Rory pulled the plate closer to her.

"Touch them and lose a hand."

"Wow."

"You should see how she is with bacon." Jess smirked.

* * *

"Mom and I are going to have a movie night. Want to join us?" Rory announced, walking back in the diner apartment.

"Work." He pointed at the papers in front of him, shaking his head.

"You work too hard." Walking to him, she placed a soft kiss on the top of his head. "Teenage Jess would be mocking you right now."

"Teenage Jess would be asking me what the fuck I'm doing with a wife and kid on the way." He smirked, pulling her down to sit in his lap. "You're getting fat."

"Hey!" Rory protested, trying to look angry. "This is your fault, mister, and if you ever refer to me as fat again I will cause you so much physical pain you'll never be able to walk again."

"And the bacon had nothing to do with it?" He chuckled, giving her a quick peck on the lips.

"Sookie's convinced it's a boy because of the bacon thing."

"She has met you and your mother before, right?"

"Apparently it's a manly thing to crave."

"You'd be ok with it being a boy?"

"I'm ok with either. I just want it to be healthy. And have your hair." She added, running her fingers through his hair. "Would you be ok with it being a boy?"

"Less to worry about." Jess smirked, hugging her closer to him. "Although I suppose he could always get some girl pregnant and send my theory to hell."

"Like you did?"

"You were involved in that."

"I'd like a boy." She smiled, tracing his bottom lip. "You'd be really good with a son. Or a daughter. You'd be great with either."

"You give me a bit too much credit."

"We're newlyweds, I have to think you're the greatest man on Earth." Rory laughed, leaning in and kissing him.

"Someone has to. We're going to be the greatest idiots that ever lived in a few short years." He rubbed her belly, smiling.

"It's fine, we can just abuse our grounding powers if it annoys us."

"I like that."

"Oh, please, like you were ever grounded a day in your life."

"Liz tried once."

"And you snuck out in…?"

"About 3 seconds after she turned her back on me."

"As much as I love you, I am going to hope baby does not have your vanishing skills. I don't think I could deal with that."

"Don't worry, I still know all my old tricks. It doesn't stand a chance."

"What do you want it to be?" Rory asked, smiling.

"We've been through this before. I don't care."

"Jess…"

"If you Jess me again for saying I don't care, I'm going to start saying a puppy."

"I'll get you one, you can walk it every time I get angry at you and want you out of the house."

"That would be a much walked dog."

Kissing him again, Rory stood up, her arms resting on her stomach. "Ok, last offer on movie night."

"Sorry. I really have to work. And it's not like you and Lorelai pay any attention to me anyway."

"That's because you never say anything."

"That's because both of you always explain the rules of movie night to me every damned time we try to watch a movie, even though I am pretty sure I can recite them in my sleep by now, shushing me if I as much as ask for the pizza but then proceed to completely ignore them and talk throughout the entire thing."

"You say that like it's a bad thing."

"I give up." He smirked, looking at her. "Have fun, don't spend the entire night cooing over Will."

"But he's so small and cute and his cheeks! Have you seen his cheeks?"

"You've pointed them out. As well as his toes and fingers and legs, I think. And that was only today."

"Grinch." She walked to him, leaning down and placing a soft kiss on his forehead. "I love you."

"Love you too."

Grabbing her bag, she zipped her jacket, smiling. "You were right, I am fat. Baby, please postpone growing too much until I can get a nice winter coat."

"Didn't your mom…?"

"Will was born in January. The only winter coat she had is far too big at the moment."

"Why don't you take Lorelai and go shopping tomorrow?"

"Luke has to work. There's no one to watch Will."

"I'll do it. God knows I need the practice."

"Your dad's amazing, baby." She rubbed her bump, walking to Jess again. "You really are."

"Have fun."

"I'll see you later."


	37. Good vibes, unexpected surprise

**A/N: Basically, you all know I'm lazy. But I'm also a firm believer in the 'vox populi' thing and since the baby's sex is going to be revealed soon-ish(in the next 1-2 chapters most likely), I figured I'd put up a poll in my profile page to give everyone a chance to vote instead of going through all of your lovely, awesome, fabulous reviews and trying to make a list. I'd made up my mind, but now I'm starting to falter and since you're all so lovely and put up with me and keep reading this, you should get a say. Enjoy this chapter and thank you for the reviews.**

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**Good vibes, unexpected surprise**

A few days later, Rory and Jess were in a coffee shop, flipping through yet another catalogue filled with pictures and descriptions of houses. Writing a number down, Rory sighed, taking another bite form her slice of cake.

"I reiterate my point: there are no good houses in this city."

"You suggesting we move?"

"No, I'm suggesting we find a house we like and the kill the people that live in it, so then we can get it."

"Faulty plan, it would take a while for the estate to be settled. Plus the people that inherit it might not be willing to sell." Jess smirked, drinking from his coffee. "And how are you going to convince random strangers to let you tour their houses if they have no intentions of selling them?"

"Well, you think of something better!"

"If we don't find something in the next two months, rent a bigger apartment until we can actually get a house we like. The alien won't need a garden that much until it gets older. This will give us the space we need and we don't have to move when you're very pregnant."

"But then we'll bring the baby home to just a random place. I won't have something to point at when I tell her stories about the first few months or years of her life."

"It will get over it. We'll take loads of pictures."

"Remind me we need to get a better camera at some point as well, ok?"

"Put it on your list."

"I don't have a list." She blushed, biting her lip.

"Oh, ok. Write it down on the piece of paper you keep writing down all of the baby related things we need, categorized by value and how urgently we need them, that is totally not a list."

"Mocking your pregnant wife is so nice." Sticking out her tongue, she laughed.

"Add to your list of things I'm not allowed to do." He smirked, leaning over and kissing her. "I like that house. Put it down on the list."

"Which one?"

Pointing to the one of the right page of the catalogue, he smiled. "That one."

"Already down." Rory lifted the list to show him, smiling as well. "Great minds."

"Frustrated minds. I'm willing to go see anything at this point."

"I know." She ran her fingers through his hair, sitting up a bit and kissing his forehead quickly. "Tammy said I should give her a call after I was done with this and she'll arrange viewings."

"Tammy is…?"

"The latest real estate agent."

"I'm done keeping track." He smirked, taking the catalogue and flipping through it. "Is she the one your grandmother recommended?"

"Figured we might as well give her a try."

"The houses in here are in our budget, not your grandmother's, right?"

"I made sure of that. The first one she showed me had columns in the living room."

"Why the fuck…you know what? Never mind. I don't care."

"Where else are we going to put the Greek urn if not next to the columns, Jess?" She grinned, leaning over and kissing him.

"My mistake, I forgot about the urn." He chuckled, shaking his head. Flipping quickly through the catalogue, he pointed to a couple of houses. "Can you make sure you schedule the viewings for these two sometime I can make it as well?"

"Sure. Just those?"

"I'll try to take off work to come see the others, but those are the only ones that look promising to me."

"I'll tell her to put those and the first one you wanted on Saturday and I'll see if and when I can squeeze something more in at some other point in the week. But those three are the ones I'm most interested in too."

"Remember the time when we didn't have to do this?"

"It was fun." Smiling, she placed a quick kiss on his lips before going back to her cake.

* * *

Late the next night, Rory walked out of their bedroom, finding Jess on the couch, reading. Curling up next to him, she hugged him while he tangled his hand in her hair, kissing the top of her head softly.

"Something wrong?"

"Bad dream."

Putting his book down, he wrapped his arms around her, rubbing her back.

"Want to tell me about it?"

"I dreamt we brought the kid home here and the entire house was filled with boxes and clothes and toys and the baby was crying and I couldn't find it."

"It's not going to happen, you know that, right? Even if we have to start looking further out than we are."

"I just…really want to move, Jess. I'm tired of always tripping on something and not having a place for books and keeping everything we have for the baby stashed in the closet, having to use our tetris skills every time someone decides to get us something else. I want to start buying things for the baby, not have to postpone until we move because there's no room."

"I know." He kissed her head again, hugging her closer.

"Tell me we'll find something."

"We will. And you cannot ask me how I know or decide to contradict me."

"I won't lose our kid somewhere in the mountains of stuff?"

"We'll put a GPS tracker in its clothes."

"Oh, useful for when it grows up."

"I thought so too." Jess smirked, sliding down on the couch and kissing her. "The houses we're going to see this weekend look good, I'm sure at least one of them will be nice enough."

"If only it was that easy."

"If you mention vibes, I'll kick your butt."

"No, it's not about vibes. I just want…a home, not a good enough house. Ticking boxes isn't everything."

"How is this not a vibing thing then?" He chuckled, looking at her.

"Fine, maybe it's about the right vibe." Rory stuck out her tongue, moving up on the couch. "But we're going to live there for a long time, hopefully. It has to be right."

"We'll find something, ok?" He reassured her again.

"Promise?"

"Yes." He smiled, cupping her face in his hand and kissing her.

"If we don't, it'll be your fault."

"Hey, I have to say whatever I can to make you calm down and get some sleep."

"Only if you come to bed with me." She grinned, kissing his palm.

"Was all this part of your evil plan to get me in bed with you?"

"Got me." Standing up, she took his hand, looking at the bedroom door. "So?"

"Coming."

* * *

Saturday morning, Rory and Jess walked to a blonde woman with a folder in one hand and a set of keys in the other.

"Hey, Tammy." Rory smiled as the woman tried to balance everything and free one of her hands.

"Hey." Shaking Rory's hand, she looked at Jess. "You're the husband?"

"Secret lover." He smirked, shaking Tammy's hand as well.

"He's still in denial." Rory laughed.

"I like you guys." Tammy smiled, pointing at the house behind them. "So, what do you think? Could this be it?"

"We're desperate, I'm getting ready to move in a tent."

"'Cause a tent would clearly be bigger than our place." Jess chuckled, looking at the house.

"Hopefully this will be better than a tent. Want to take a look inside?"

"Sure." Rory smiled and the woman headed to the front door, unlocking it before stepping inside.

"This place has hardwood floors in every room except for the bedrooms and the bathrooms, of course." Walking into the large living room, she smiled. "This is where the tour starts. The doors open to the patio and then you can go from there to the garden. Small, but you said you don't need a lot of outside space."

Squeezing Jess' hand, Rory leaned closer to his ear. "I love this room."

"Don't get too excited." He kissed her cheek, smiling.

Opening the door to the patio, Tammy walked outside, with the young couple following her. "There's a roof, so you can put a bench or something out here and not worry too much about rain ruining it."

"Where does that door lead?"

"Office. We'll have to go back inside since it's locked at the moment." Walking back in the house, she walked past the stairs, opening another door. "At least that's what it's used as now, but I'm sure you could switch it to a dining room or something if you wanted to. There's also a small bathroom over there."

"Office is perfect." Rory grinned, looking around her.

"Kitchen is this way." Leading them to the kitchen, she pointed at the cupboards. "There's plenty of storage space for things. Actually there's a ton of storage in the house in general. Appliances come with the house, so you don't need to worry about that." Walking back outside, she opened a door under the stairs. "This is one of the storage cupboards, it's great for small things-vacuum cleaner, boxes, luggage, whatnot."

"Your grandmother's presents." Jess smirked, wrapping his arm around Rory's waist.

"It's a family tradition to store horrible presents."

"At least we haven't yet been re-gifted the dogs."

"Yet."

"Ready to see the upstairs?" Tammy interrupted them, looking at the stairs.

"Yeah, sure."

Following the woman up the stairs, Rory took Jess' hand again, looking at him. "I like this place."

"Good vibe?" He whispered back, trying not to chuckle.

"I just think it's the kind of place we could be happy in." Looking down at her bump, barely visible under the thick winter coat, she smiled at it. "We could even put a small swing in the back."

"More stuff for you to worry about the baby falling from, right?"

"Ok, maybe no swing."

Reaching the top of the stairs, the agent opened a door, waking in a bedroom.

"This is the master bedroom. There's a bathroom over here and a closet." Pointing to the various doors, she waited for the two to explore the place, standing in front of the window.

"The windows face south, so you won't have a problem with the room overheating in the mornings."

"Nice. Can we see the other bedroom?" Rory smiled, walking closer to the woman again.

"Actually, there are two more bedrooms up here. I did mention to you on the phone this house is very large."

"But budget-wise?"

"Still within your limit. They owners are moving to a different city for a job, so they're trying to get rid of it as quickly as possible."

"Ok."

Walking back out of the room, Tammy walked into one of the smaller bedrooms. "This is the first one. They're about the same size, so there won't be any issues. Do you have kids?"

"One on the way."

"Aw, congratulations. Either one of these rooms would work great for a child. They're decently sized and you can use the other one as a guest room or something." Walking outside, she opened the other room, showing it to them. "There's also a bathroom over there." She pointed to the last door and Jess walked to it, opening it and peaking inside. "So, what do you think?"

"Can we look around for a bit more?"

"Sure. We still have a while to go until we're supposed to be at the next place. I really hope you like this one, it's my favorite."

"Are the other ones smaller?"

"Not really, I just think this one has the right energy for you too." Smiling, she looked at the stairs. "I'll be outside, take your time."

As soon as they were alone, Rory grinned, looking at Jess.

"I like it, I like it, I like it!"

"She said energy."

"I said vibe. So what?"

"So…I don't know." He smirked, heading back outside and looking at the bedroom again. "I like the size of this room."

"And the baby's room would be big enough. No stupid closet sized room." She walked up to him, wrapping her arms around his waist from behind. "I love this house, Jess."

"It's the best one we've seen so far, I'll give you that."

"It's the house. I don't want to keep looking."

Turning around, he hugged her, placing a small kiss on her temple. "We might as well go see the last two ones."

"We've seen a million houses so far. I'm tired. I want this one."

"You've made up your mind then."

Nodding, she let go of him, taking his hand again and heading down the stairs again. Dragging him into the living room, she let go of him, lifting her arms.

"It's perfect."

"The fireplace's nice."

"We'll have to get something to block it off once the baby starts crawling but other than that…"

"The office has two desks in it, so we know it'd fit."

"And there's room for bookshelves. Face it, there's no downside to this place." She grinned, walking to him again and kissing him.

"I'm not saying I don't like it, just that we've seen so many, two more aren't going to kill us."

"But I don't want another place."

"Can I look at the kitchen again?"

"Sure." Taking his hand again, she started dragging him to the kitchen, the smile never leaving her face. Leaning against a counter, she watched him as he explored the room.

"A table would fit in here nicely."

"We'll be responsible and have someone come look at it before we sign anything, but I love it. So, so much."

"You'll be ok with going up and down the stairs all the time when you get very pregnant?"

"Jess, unless we move in an apartment, I'll have to go up and down stairs anyway. And I would really like to not have to worry about upstairs neighbors having a party or us walking too loudly and disturbing the downstairs ones."

"Thank fuck the old lady moved out. I would have killed her myself if she'd lived there for more than two months."

"She wasn't…"

"She came to our door 5 times a week, at least, to complain about something or the other."

"Fine, she was bad. So…this house?"

"It's nice."

"It's perfect."

"You asking for my opinion is useless if you're not going to actually take it into consideration." He smirked, standing on the opposite side of the room, crossing his arms against his chest.

"I am. I just needed to state again just how great it is."

"A swing might be nice. Once the kid is old enough." He added, looking at her.

"Plus, if we do decide to have that second kid you mentioned something about, we wouldn't have to move."

"Added bonus."

"Final verdict?"

"Someone is coming to inspect it. Someone official, with a hard hat, boots and clipboard and whatever else is needed. And we're getting a bigger bed. It would fit in that room, so that wouldn't be a problem, plus it would be nice to have one for the middle of summer when it's ridiculously hot and we can't stand being near each other. And the other perks." He smirked, pausing for a second. "I don't care how much you argue, we're putting two desks in the office. I get to organize the books. Your grandparents are not allowed to come anywhere near the place until it's done, otherwise they'll go crazy and offer to buy us more crap. And I really think we should go see the last two houses, if only because we have nothing better to do. Those are my terms." Looking at her, he noticed that she was very quiet, her teeth biting her lip while a hand was resting on her bump, under her now opened coat. "Ror, say something."

"I think the baby just kicked." She grinned, releasing a breath she didn't know she was holding.

"What?" Completely forgetting about his list of demands, Jess just continued to look at her, not knowing what else to do.

"The baby. It kicked." She repeated, walking to him and taking his hand, placing it on her stomach. "Here. I know you won't be able to feel it yet, but it did. I swear."

"You swear or you think?" He smirked, rubbing her bump.

"I swear." She nodded, smiling. "See, even your kid knows this is the house."

Hugging her close to him, Jess smiled, his hand tangled in her hair. "I love you."

"I love you too."

Walking into the room, Tammy saw the two hugging and smiled at them, clearing her throat.

"You guys ready to head to the next place?"

"No need." Jess shook his head, glancing at Rory and seeing her nod slightly. "We're taking this one."


	38. Great news

**A/N: Ok, everyone grab a rock/lamp/mug/whatever's closest to you because you're going to hate my guts at the end of this chapter and ammunition will probably be needed. Ready? Thank you for the reviews, you're awesome, don't kill me, the next chapter's coming as soon as humanly possible.**

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* * *

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**Great news**

A few days later, Jess walked into their house, finding his wife on the couch, a pair of headphones on her bump.

"Can I even ask what you're doing?"

"I'm watching the news. I didn't want the baby to hear it."

"Can it even hear?"

"My research's wonky but I'm not taking chances."

"What's so bad about the news?" He crashed down on the couch next to her, placing a quick kiss on her lips.

"It's sad and depressing. I don't want him to know all the bad things that happen in the world before he has to."

Draping his arm over Rory's shoulders, he pulled her closer to him, kissing the top of her head. "I love you, you know that, right?"

"Yes. Why? Something happened?" Pulling away from him quickly, she looked into his eyes but Jess just shook his head, smiling.

"No. You're just…taking care of it. Don't make me try to explain it."

Her expression softening, she pressed a kiss on his lips before slapping his arm. "If you ever do that to me again, I'll kill you!"

"Do what?"

"Scare me like that. Do you have any ideas how many scenarios my brain formulated as soon as you said that?"

"Heaven forbid I tell my wife I love her."

"It's not you telling me that, which, by the way, you know I like hearing, it's how you put it."

"Ok. I'll work on my presentation skills for any future occasion."

Cuddling up to him again, she took the headphones off her bump, grinning. "You haven't said hello to the baby yet."

"You're kidding." He smirked, cocking an eyebrow.

"Hey, remember me not taking any chances?"

"How about you talk to it, I pretend I still have some of my sanity?"

"Jess, please."

"I have to draw some lines." He shook his head, kissing her.

"But you've talked to it before."

"Spontaneous is different than you prompting me to have a conversation with the spawn."

"Very nice, jerk." She stuck out her tongue, grinning. "I want it to get used to your voice, that's all."

"Ror, give me some time." He sighed, cupping her face in his hand. "I'll get there."

"Before he turns 5?"

"I'll at least ask it to pass the cereal when it's old enough." He smirked, pulling her in for a kiss. "So, you derailed me before I got a chance to tell you some good news. Great news actually, I suppose."

"What is it, what is it, what is it?" She shot in rapid fire, bringing her hands together in excitement.

"The house guy called. The place is in perfect shape, no mold, no termites, no monsters in the basement or anything."

"Oh my goodness, you're serious?" Rory grinned, looking at him.

"Yeah."

"This means we can put in a real offer and sign stuff and have our own place?"

"Yes." He repeated, smiling as well.

"I love you!" She crushed her mouth to his, smiling through their kiss. "I'll call Tammy first thing tomorrow."

"Let me know how it goes."

"She said there shouldn't be a problem with it since we can match their asking price."

"I know." He kissed her again, pushing a strand of hair behind her ear. "Have you picked colors for the rooms yet?"

"I was thinking we can do a red wall in the kitchen. It might be fun. I'm not sure about the rest."

"Alien's room either pink or blue?"

"Ugh." She made a face. "I'm not sure, it's just so ridiculous and it pushes kids into gender stereotypes from the second they're born…"

"I don't need the lecture, I was just asking." Jess smiled, resting against the back of the couch again, propping his feet up on the coffee table. "We can paint it yellow or green or something."

"Not green. Anything but green."

"What's so bad about green?"

"Green's the new pink." Grimacing again, Rory laughed seeing his confused expression. "Sherry's baby shower."

"So 10 years later we can't paint spawn's room green because of that?"

"Where did you pick this spawn thing up? And no, I don't think so. Light green might be fine, I'll have a look at a color wheel."

"Thank you. And I have no idea." Jess smirked.

"I was just getting used to alien." Leaning in, she kissed him quickly. "It doesn't matter, we can just start using its name after Thursday."

"Unless it's a boy, because we still don't have a first name for one. Or it decides to be modest. You still blush when I watch you get changed and God knows I've seen you naked plenty of times."

"Changing is different!" She tried to argue her point, making him shake his head and smirk.

"Whatever."

"Great argument, genius." Laughing, she placed small, quick kisses on his lips.

"Until you explain to me how changing is different, I don't need an argument. I win by default due to your lack of logic."

"Didn't we settle for Jack or Henry?" She changed the subject again, sticking out her tongue.

"Yeah. However, that's not a first name, that's two."

"We'll try them out if it's a boy, see which one we like best."

"And you're still ok with Brett?"

"It's grown on me. Now I can't imagine a different name." Leaning closer to him, Rory smiled, kissing the corner of his mouth. "Plus, you still smile every time we mention it. I don't need another argument in favor of it."

Kissing her one more time, he picked up her mp3 player from the couch, looking at it. "You honestly think playing _Clash _is a great idea?"

"Why wouldn't it be?"

"Stick to more mellow stuff from now on. Don't give it any big ideas."

"I'll try."

"It will have more than enough time to listen to punk when it's a teenager."

"What if it likes boy bands?"

"We'll kick it out of the house. There are only so many things I can take." Jess chuckled, putting the player back down on the couch. "Ready for dinner?"

"Oh, yeah."

* * *

Late on Wednesday night, Rory opened her eyes, curling up closer to Jess. Wrapping his arm around her, he kissed the top of her head, trying to stay awake.

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing. I'm excited."

"Tomorrow?"

"Yeah." She placed a small kiss on his chest, smiling in the dark as his fingers started twirling a strand of her hair. "There's the horribly terrified part of me that thinks that something will be wrong, but the other part just wants to know if we're having a boy or girl. This is the big one, if something's really wrong, we find out tomorrow."

"It doesn't matter, Ror. We'll make it work."

"I want this baby." She bit her lip, mumbling stubbornly. "I can't even think what it would be like…"

"The baby will be fine, ok? Hey, you know as well as I do that there's no good reason for anything to be wrong."

"But…"

"No buts. If something's wrong, we'll deal with it after we know. I'm not going to go with you through every single scenario of how it could go wrong." Deciding to distract her, he smiled, pressing a small kiss on her forehead. "What do you want the spawn to be?"

"Haven't we had this conversation a million times before?"

"I'm sorry, you're going to complain?" He smirked, kissing her head again.

"I stand by my vote. I want a boy."

"But a girl…?"

"Would be just as good."

"I think I want it to be a girl." Jess smiled, his voice soft.

"That's the first time you've expressed a preference. And been serious about it, anyway. Is it because of the name?"

"No. I don't know why. I think some part of it is because this way, I wouldn't have that in common with Jimmy either."

"You were getting along fine with him at the wedding."

"That doesn't change the fact that I still get scared I'll be like him sometimes."

"You're not."

"I know."

"Then?"

"It's irrational."

"Tell me next time it happens, so I can hold your hand and tell you just how amazing you are and how you have nothing to be scared of."

"Thanks."

Sliding up on the bed, she rested her head on her pillow, cupping his face in her hand. "I mean it."

"I know." He reassured her, smirking as he leaned in and kissed her. "I love you."

"Love you too."

"Ror…?"

"Yeah?"

"You're sure you know I'm not leaving you, right?"

"Yes. I know." She nodded, kissing him again. "You may be stupid sometimes, but I know you well enough to know you're not leaving."

"Thank you." He mumbled again, tracing her lip with his thumb. "It's nice to have my personal cheerleader."

"Hey, I'd probably not look all that great in an outfit anymore, but that's not going to stop me."

"I'm sure you still would. If you ever gave in and actually bought one…"

Slapping his chest, she laughed, shaking her head. "Dream on, mister."

"Trust me, I will."

"Oh, shoot, what if the kid wants to be a cheerleader? I don't know anything about that!" Rory suddenly realized, looking at him, her eyes widening in fear. "Or do anything relating to sports! Or eat healthy food! Jess, what if Luke gets to our baby and it starts eating only spinach and we'll never get to have proper movie nights with it?"

"Seriously? You think a kid we raise will be a healthy eater?"

"It might!"

"Rory, Will's already showing signs of being normal instead of Luke-like. I doubt he'll ruin our kid completely if he can't do it for his son."

"You're right."

"More often than you care to admit."

"I don't want to boost your ego too much." Rory laughed, moving back to lie on his chest, now calmer. "So you want a girl, huh?"

"I have a slight preference for a girl, but overall, I don't give a damn what it is. I can build pillow forts with either."

"You're going to be amazing with it once it's born." Changing her mind, she shook her head. "You already are amazing."

"You're not horrible either." He smirked, kissing her forehead, his hand moving up to cup her face. "Now can I go back to sleep?"

"Yes." She smiled, pulling the duvet higher up their bodies. "Good night, Jess."

"Night."

* * *

Thursday morning, Rory walked up the stairs to Truncheon, barging in the front room, finding Matt standing there, refilling his cup of coffee.

"Hey, Matt." She smiled, trying to catch her breath. "Jess in his office?"

"Unfortunately, your husband is out with Chris, trying to coerce…um, talk our printing guys into not increasing our rates."

"Again?"

"We'd get new ones, but they're good and not usually annoying." The young man smiled, drinking from his mug. "Can I help you?"

Exhaling loudly, she shook her head. "Not really. I just have news."

"Oh, good news?"

"Yes. But I need to tell Jess first."

"Damn you married people. I have a right to know!"

"You will. As soon as he does."

"Is it about the baby?"

"Nope. The appointment isn't until later this afternoon."

"You get to find out if I'm going to have a niece or a nephew today, right?" Matthew grinned, looking at her and she smiled back at him.

"Right."

"Well, in the meantime, while we're waiting for Jess to return-he shouldn't be much longer, by the way, would you like to sit down and have coffee with me?"

"I'll take you on the sitting down but not on the coffee."

"Right, sorry. Being stupid." Walking to the couch, they both sat down, Matt still holding his coffee. "How are you doing? How's the baby? Tell me everything!"

"It's kicking, which is ridiculously fun. Other than that, nothing much to report."

"I knew about the kicking."

"Did you have to drag it out of him?" Rory laughed softly, shaking her head.

"No. Jess mentioned it over coffee. Don't tell him I told you, but you could actually see excitement in his eyes. Chris agrees."

"You mocked him for it?"

"We had to, really. It's our job." He grinned, looking at her. "You're still feeling ok?"

"I'm feeling great."

"You know that if you need anything…"

"You're very sweet to offer."

"Hey, anything for my niece." Matt laughed, drinking from his mug.

"So, your vote is for a girl?"

"Yes." He nodded enthusiastically. "What's the consensus?"

"It's pretty much 50-50 right now. I want a boy, mom wants a girl, which I think it's mostly because she's been eyeing every single tiny dress within a hundred mile radius, Luke I think is rooting for a boy as well. He's not said it straight, but it might be because it would have a less crazy name. Will said he wants a blargh!" She gurgled, trying to imitate the toddler's noise.

"Blargh!" Matt made the noise again, laughing. "I'm changing my vote to that. Wait, what was that about the crazy name? Brett is perfectly sane."

"I keep forgetting you're on his side on the Hemingway debate."

"It's not about sides, just undeniable literary talent."

"You're not going to win this one."

"I can out-energize you, I'll have more coffee." He laughed, lifting his mug in the air.

"Damn you. Flaunting it in front of those of us that can't have any."

"You're stronger than I am."

"I'll exercise my revenge on the kid after it's born."

Opening the door, Jess and Chris walked in the room.

"For the last time, we're not changing printers!" Jess grumbled, shaking his head. "God, I need coffee."

"Jess, just try to see my point!"

"I've seen your point, now I'm telling you it's stupid." Spotting Rory on the couch next to Matthew, he walked to her, kissing the top of her head. "What are you doing here?"

"News! I have news!" She exclaimed excitedly, standing up. "We got it!"

"Got…what?"

"The house!" Rory grinned again, kissing him quickly. "Tammy called and they accepted our offer and they want to sign on everything as soon as possible and we have a house, Jess! A house!"

"Seriously?"

"No, I joke about buying houses all the time." She teased, cupping his face in her hand. "Yes. Seriously."

"When do we sign?"

"I've asked Tammy to see if they can make it Monday afternoon."

Hugging her close to him, he kissed her, smiling softly.

"I love you." She whispered when he pulled back, running her fingers through his hair. "We almost have a home."

"Congratulations, guys." Matt smiled from the couch, clearing his throat.

"Thanks."

"We're helping you move." Chris chimed in as well, pouring himself a cup of coffee. "And having drinks at your place as soon as it's done."

"Drinks? Heck, we'll have a party." Rory beamed happily, turning around in Jess' arms. "Matt, it will be the perfect excuse for you to introduce me to Jane. I need more female support around here, damn it."

"My niece should help with that." The man chuckled, looking at her. "But fine, if it's a party, I'm bringing her."

"Yay!" Rory squealed happily.

"His niece?" Chris fake pouted, looking at them. "But I wanted a boy!"

"Who said you get a vote?" Jess smirked.

"We don't know yet, Chris." Rory reassured him, rubbing her bump. "Actually, we should head to the doctor's office if we don't want to be late."

"Come back after you're done, bring new pictures!" Matt grinned, picking up his now cold cup of coffee.

"Will do." Taking Jess's hand, they headed for the door after waving goodbye to the two young men.

* * *

A while later, they were sitting in the doctor's office, waiting to be called in. Squeezing his hand, Rory looked at him, biting her lip.

"Tell me everything's going to be fine with the baby. It won't have any extra limbs or anything."

"Everything's going to be fine." He pulled her closer, wrapping his arm around her and kissing the top of her head.

"And if it's not?"

"It will be."

"Promise?"

Hugging her tighter, he buried his face in her hair, placing a soft kiss next to her ear. "Yes. The baby's fine, ok? Trust me."

"I'm scared."

"I know." He whispered again, not knowing what more to say. Taking a deep breath, Rory pulled away, looking at him as a small smile appeared on her lips. "Baby's kicking again."

"I told you it likes you better, it's already trying to make sure you know it's ok."

Laughing softly, she lifted his hand, kissing it quickly. "You think?"

"Or it's annoyed that it's not picture time yet."

"Thank you."

"Remember the house next time you get scared. That should distract you sufficiently for your mood to change completely." He smirked, running his thumb across her cheek.

"You can go in now." The receptionist called them, smiling.

"Thanks."

"Hey, guys!" Laura greeted them happily as soon as they walked in, standing up to shake their hands. "How are you?"

"Terrified." Rory admitted, smiling wearily.

"Then let's skip the small talk and get this started, so we can check if everything's ok." The woman nodded, pointing to the table. "Remember the drill?"

"Hop on table, get clothing out of the way, try not to hyperventilate."

"Right."

A few seconds later, Laura sat down on a chair, turning the machine on and picking up the plastic wand. "It's a bit cold."

"All good. Thanks for the warning." Rory nodded, one hand holding Jess' as tightly as she could.

Moving the machine across Rory's stomach, Laura smiled, flipping the screen over so they could see it. "Wave hello to mom and dad, baby." Pointing to the side of the screen, she grinned. "Here's its face and arm."

"Oh, wow, it looks like a baby."

"No more blob." Jess smirked, caressing her hand with his thumb.

"Is everything ok?" Rory bit her lip, glancing at Laura quickly.

"I need to take measurements before I can say anything with certainty."

"Can you leave the screen facing this way while you do it?"

"Sure." Laura nodded, staring at the screen.

"I think it has your nose." Jess smirked, whispering in Rory's ear after a few minutes of silence, while she alternated between looking at the screen and the doctor's face, looking for any signs that anything may be wrong.

"You're actually admitting it looks like something, Mister 'alien pod'?"

"Hey, now it looks like a baby. Last time…?"

"I know." She smiled, still looking at the screen. "It's a beautiful baby."

"That it is." Laura grinned, turning her attention back to the young couple. "Everything's just fine, guys."

"Everything, everything?"

"Everything I can check for looks great."

"Thank you so much." She grinned as well, trying to bite back happy tears. "Our baby's safe, Jess."

"I heard." He kissed her temple, smiling.

"Are we going for the money shot or would you prefer not to know?"

"Definitely tell us." Rory beamed excitedly, glancing at Jess and he nodded quickly.

"Ok." Flipping the wand around more, Laura tried to find the right angle. "Stop kicking for a second, baby, we want to see what you are. Do you have any names picked?"

"We have a first name for a girl and a couple of options for a boy. So?"

Finally stopping the wand, Laura smiled, pointing at the screen again. "Congratulations. It's a…"


	39. It's a

**A/N: See, quick update before I get killed :D. Thank you for the avalanche of reviews, you guys all rock. I know there's no way everyone is going to be happy with this chapter, but I hope you'll continue reading anyway, even if you were rooting for the other sex. Thank you again, sorry for my evilness and enjoy!**

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**It's a...**

"Congratulations! It's a girl!"

"A girl?" Rory whispered breathlessly, looking at Laura.

"Yeah." Moving her hand around the screen, she pointed at various things. "Legs and the naughty bits. Considering how much it took me to find this, I'm pretty sure she will never get naked while you're throwing a Christmas party and parade around the house."

"Tommy?"

"I don't think I'll ever be able to face my family and friends again." Laura smiled, moving the wand around. "This is your daughter." She announced, focusing the image on the fetus' face.

"Hey, baby Brett." Rory grinned, waving at her bump.

"Somers?"

"Ashley." Jess smiled. "_The Sun Also Rises_."

"Ava Gardner played her in the movie, didn't she?"

"Yeah, she did." Rory confirmed.

"Ok, so I'm going to get the pictures ready for you and then you can get dressed again."

"Thanks."

* * *

A few minutes later, they were back outside, Rory clutching one picture tightly, looking at it.

"This is our daughter, Jess." She handed him the picture as soon as they were in the car, still grinning. "Our healthy, nothing is wrong with her, daughter."

"Well, she most certainly is yours, considering how much trouble she gave the doctor."

"At least we don't have to worry about her becoming a porn star. And what, you had doubts that she's mine?"

"You never know." He chuckled, leaning over and kissing her. "You ok with a girl?"

"I am…so much more than ok right now. I don't care. She's healthy, everything's alright. And now I get to buy silly dresses and bows to tie her hair with when she's old enough and everything."

"Got to have your priorities straight." Jess smirked, still looking at the picture. "She's pretty."

Leaning over to him, she kissed his cheek, still smiling. "You're biased."

"I'm getting a shotgun tomorrow." He chuckled, handing her back the picture and placing a soft kiss on her lips. "Call your mom."

"I will. I'm just…everything is working out. We're married, we have the perfect house with a really good story behind it, our kid's fine…everything."

"Stop saying that, you'll jinx it and the house will fall down the second we move in."

"Now you've jinxed it." She grinned, kissing him again. "I love you."

"I love you too." He whispered back, rubbing her bump slowly with his thumb. "Girl, huh?"

"That's what the doctor said."

"Girl." He repeated, crushing his mouth to hers, smiling as she cupped his face in her hands.

"You've gone all dopey on me." Rory teased him when he pulled back, caressing his cheek. "Can I take it as a sign that you're happy with a daughter?"

"You could say that." He smirked, placing another quick kiss on her lips. "She's never dating."

"Oh, God, this again." Rolling her eyes, Rory pulled away from him, making him laugh.

"I mean it."

"Of course you do." She stuck out her tongue, fastening her seatbelt. "Go on, drive back to Truncheon, we can have lunch with the guys."

"You don't have to be back at work?"

"Work's slow today, I took a couple of hours off."

"Ok." He nodded, turning the key in the ignition when his phone started ringing. Turning the engine off again, he picked up his phone, not checking the number.

"Yeah?"

"_What's wrong? Why isn't Rory answering? Is she ok? Is something wrong with the baby?"_ The woman's voice asked in rapid fire at the other end, not stopping to breathe.

"Lorelai?"

"_Yes! What's going on?"_

"Hold on, Rory's right here."

"_Is the baby ok?"_

"Yeah. Everything's fine." He reassured her, smiling again. Handing his wife the phone, he rolled his eyes. "Your mother."

"Mommy!" Rory yelped excitedly. "It's a girl!"

"_A girl?"_ Lorelai grinned, her voice going back to normal.

"A girl." Rory confirmed, the giant smile appearing on her lips again. "And the doctor said everything looks great and she's healthy and Jess and I are having a daughter, mom!"

"_Aw, kid, congratulations!"_

"I'm scanning the pictures as soon as I get home and sending them to you."

"_Scan them at work! And come back this weekend, we'll have a party!"_

"We were coming anyway, we don't need a party. Is Luke there? I want to tell him!"

"_Hang on, I'm just walking into the diner." _

Hearing the bell ring, Rory bit her lip anxiously, waiting.

"_Lorelai, no cell phones!"_ She heard the man's muffled voice from the other end of the line.

"_It's Rory! They have news!"_

"_What news?"_

"_News! Here, talk to her!" _

"_Hey, Rory." _

"Hey, Luke! It's a girl!"

"_What's a girl?"_

"The baby! It's a girl!" She exclaimed again, laughing softly.

"_Oh, wow…congratulations. Everything else ok?"_

"Everything is just perfect. I'd hand the phone over to Jess but he's driving."

"_Send him my congratulations."_

"Will do. We'll be there this weekend."

"_I'm making you a cake."_

"Thanks, Luke, but that's…"

"_Is chocolate still ok?"_

Shaking her head, she snickered. "Chocolate's good. Thank you."

"_Wait a second, your mother wants to talk to you again." _

"I'll see you tomorrow night."

"_I'll see you then."_ After a short pause, Rory heard her mother's voice again.

"_Ok, now that I've had coffee and can breathe again, what do you think you're doing not answering your phone? Do you have any idea how worried I was when you weren't picking up despite me calling 50 times? I don't care how old and married you are, you have to answer the phone at all times unless you want me to have a heart attack! Got it?" _Lorelai ranted, trying to sound as angry as she could.

"I turned it off while I was in the doctor's office."

"_And turning it back on…?"_

"I forgot. I was excited. In my defense, I was actually just getting ready to call you when you called Jess."

"_Well next time, don't forget!" _

"I'll try not to."

"_Hey, Rory…?"_ Lorelai smiled, her voice softening again.

"Yes?"

"_You're going to have a daughter."_

"I know." Rory grinned, biting her lip.

"_Saturday morning, we're going shopping! We need to start this girl's wardrobe and soon!"_

"Fine, but I'm storing everything in Luke's apartment until we…shoot, I forgot to tell you the other news!"

"_There's more?"_

"Oh, yeah! Really awesome news! Almost as good as the first thing."

"_What is it?"_

"We got the house!"

"_Now we're definitely throwing you a party! Congratulations, kid. When do you sign?"_

"Monday."

"_Awesome! And moving?"_

"Not sure yet, I'll call you after we talk to them. Listen, mom, we're at Truncheon so I have to go. I'll see you tomorrow night."

"_I'll be the one holding the balloons."_

"Bye." Turning the phone off, she handed it back to Jess who was looking at her, smirking.

"They're throwing you a party?"

"I think they're throwing us a party. Or the baby, I don't know. I'm not even sure if there's going to be an actual party or a get together with cake. Oh, and Luke sends his congratulations."

"With your crazy town catering to her every whim, she's going to be the most spoiled brat in the world, isn't she?"

"Don't worry, you can always pretend to throw in some fatherly authority."

"Pretend, huh?" He chuckled, unbuckling his seatbelt. "Sure."

"Oh, no, honey, I'm convinced that you're going to be extremely strict with her." Rory replied in a mocking tone, trying to not start laughing.

"You're paying for that one tonight, just for the record."

"Promise?" She whispered in his ear before kissing his cheek and jumping out of the car, leaving him shaking his head and smirking. A few seconds later he followed her inside Truncheon, finding Matthew and Chris standing next to the coffee machine, talking.

"No one does any work when I'm not here." He tried to sound angry, but ended up smirking, wrapping his arm around Rory's waist as she clutched her pictures.

"It's lunch break, idiot." Matt replied, laughing before turning around to look at Rory. "How'd it go?"

"The doctor said there's nothing wrong with her."

"Other than the father." Chris smirked, looking at the two.

"Wait, her?" Matthew chimed in and Rory nodded.

"It's a girl!"

"Damn it." Chris fake pouted before taking it out his wallet, handing Matt a twenty dollar bill. "Congratulations." He turned back to look at Rory, smiling. "My reaction was due to having to give this jerk money, not you having a girl. I am very amused at the thought of Jess having a daughter. Karma's a bitch, isn't it, Jess?"

"I need something heavy to throw at his head." Jess smirked.

"Whatever." Matt grinned, hugging Rory. "I'll kick the shit out of any guy that goes near her."

"Thank you."

"Hey, why does he get thanks and I get a 'sure, whatever'?" Jess protested.

"Because in the absence of an older brother, it's the duty of the uncle to be the one that keeps suitors away by scaring the living daylight out of them." Matthew tried to explain, grinning. "This way, she'll like you but she'll still be safe."

"I hadn't thought of that." Jess admitted.

"Wait, why does he get to be uncle and I don't? I can kill boys as well." Chris chimed in the conversation, an evil grin on his face.

"Because I asked first!" Matt announced proudly.

"Guys, there's no limit on who gets to be uncle. You've both earned that title a long time ago, if you want it." Rory smiled making Chris nod.

"Yes! I don't have siblings, this is as close as I'll ever get. And to be fair, you two are far less annoying than siblings anyway." He joked, making Rory smile.

"Settled then." Kissing Jess' cheek, she smiled. "Anyone want to go to lunch?"

* * *

Later that night, Rory was sitting on the couch, a pen in her hand and a notebook in her lap. Sitting down next to her, Jess smirked, kissing her shoulder.

"What are you doing?"

"List."

Reading the top of the page, he smiled. "_Stuff for Brett_. You've gone crazy list making mode, I see."

"It's the official list."

"What's on it?"

"What's not on it?" She laughed, shaking her head. "Everything." Handing him the notebook, he waited for him to read it, smiling.

"You're insane." He threw the notebook on the coffee table, kissing her instead. "You can get started on it as soon as we're moved."

"The camera has to be first, I want a million pictures of this place."

"You already have them."

"Yes, and even you're in some of them." Rory laughed, sticking out her tongue. "You and mom are impossible to get in a picture."

"Keeps the mystery alive." He smirked as she curled up closer to him, pulling her feet up and resting her hand on her bump.

"I'm excited."

"About the move or the baby?"

"Both. The baby is more of an excited yet so incredibly anxious at the same time thing."

"Why? Still scared it will go wrong?"

"Yes. And…this is going to sound stupid, but I really want to have a relationship like the one mom and I have with our daughter, but I'm scared I'll fail. I don't want to be like mom and grandma, always fighting."

"You won't fail." He rubbed her arm, kissing her temple. "I'm not going to let you, ok?"

"Promise?"

"Yes." Burying his face in her hair, Jess smiled. "There is no way she's not going to love you, trust me."

"Thank you." She lifted her head, kissing the corner of his mouth. "You're amazing."

"Good to know at least you think that."

"Oh, please, this girl is going to love you way more than she's going to love me." Rory smiled, kissing him again before lying down, resting her head on his lap while her fingers played on her stomach. "Girls always love their fathers more."

"You didn't."

"Different situation. Plus, I want her to. Between the two of us, we can make sure there's an impossible amount of love going your way. "

Smoothing her hair down, Jess smiled. "How about you wait until she's born before you decide which one's going to be her favorite?"

"Nope." She shook her head, grinning. "I've made up my mind. If you're going to be overprotective of us, we can love you like crazy for it."

"I am not…"

"Don't even try to argue." Sticking out her tongue, Rory laughed.

"I love you too."


	40. Trips

**A/N: Thank you for the reviews.**

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**Trips**

Friday night, Jess leaned over to Rory who was sleeping in the passenger seat, placing a soft kiss on her shoulder. Opening her eyes, she blinked rapidly, twisting her neck.

"God, we need a car that's more comfortable to sleep in."

"You should have grabbed a pillow." He smiled, pushing a strand of hair behind her ear. "We're here."

"Are we late?"

"Not yet. Your mom's waiting for us."

Nodding and yawning one more time, Rory got out of the car, waiting for Jess to join her before walking to her mother, hugging her.

"Hey."

"Child! You're here!" Lorelai wrapped her arms around her daughter, smiling. She waved at Jess, mouthing 'Hi' and he nodded in response, watching the two women who were still hugging. "It's a girl!" Lorelai grinned again, making Rory nod before finally releasing her grip.

"I know!"

"Are you telling them…" Lorelai jerked her head in the direction of the house, rolling her eyes. "…tonight or waiting for a bit longer?"

"Why should we wait?"

"I don't know, my self-preservation instincts tell me it's always a good idea to not share information with my parents until you have to."

"So, what, you want me to wait until she's born?"

"I think you can drag it for a few more years after that. You'd have to be careful, of course, but nothing that can't be handled."

"You're insane and we need to go inside before we're late." Rory shook her head, laughing softly before heading for the front door. Turning around and looking at the two people standing behind her, sour expressions on their faces, she put on a fake, exaggerated smile. "Smile and pretend you're happy to be here."

"She's bossy." Lorelai laughed, looking at Jess.

"Hey, she's your daughter."

"Your wife."

"What does that…?"

"Quiet!" Rory interrupted him, ringing the doorbell. After a few seconds, a maid let them in and guided to the leaving room, taking their coats on her way out. Standing up, Emily gave Rory a quick hug.

"Hey, grandma!"

"Rory, you look lovely tonight. Positively glowing."

"Aw, thanks."

"Hello, Lorelai. Jess."

Nodding at her, the two tried to smile.

"Sit down, I'll get everyone drinks. Is Luke not joining us tonight?"

"The babysitter called in sick and he's home with Will. We'd have brought him with us, but lately he gets very fussy if he stays up past his bedtime and I didn't think everyone would enjoy dealing with a screaming toddler. Where's dad?" Lorelai looked at Emily as soon as she was sitting down in the chair.

"Work trip."

"Really? Didn't he say he was going to slow down?"

"Well, yes. But _'it's just one more trip, Emily, and then I'll stop. I need to go to this one; the people in our Chicago office are imbeciles!'_." She mimicked her husband's voice, making a face.

"How many last trips does this make now?"

"Twelve."

"Shoot…and we have news to share." Rory pouted and Jess placed a quick kiss on her shoulder, making sure Emily wasn't watching. Handing them their drinks, the older woman grabbed the last glass before sitting down on the couch on front of them.

"You can tell me your news. I should at least hear them first if Richard decides to not keep his promises."

"Sounds fair to me!" Lorelai announced, nodding once while looking at her daughter.

"Ok." The young woman smiled, taking Jess' hand in hers before taking a deep breath. "So I'm going to start with the less exciting one in my opinion, even though it really is exciting and had it happened any other week, it would totally get top billing but…"

"Rory, you're rambling." Lorelai snickered, drinking from her martini.

"Well, I'm…"

"Excited, yeah, we got that." Jess smirked and Rory glared at him before looking back at her grandmother.

"I don't know how much Tammy's told you, but you know we found a house last week, right?"

"Yes."

"The inspector said everything's just fine and we put an offer in and the guys accepted it. We sign on Monday!"

"That is excellent news."

"I know." Rory smiled.

"Do you know when you move in yet?"

"Not really, but I'll let you know as soon as we find out. And we really want to have you and grandpa over as soon as we're settled in, if the drive isn't too long."

"We'd love to visit." Emily smiled politely.

"Ok, now for the really, really great news!" Rory exclaimed, biting her lip in excitement. "We had the doctor's appointment yesterday and everything with the baby is just fine. We also got new pictures and we found out its sex." She pointed at her stomach, grinning before starting to dig through her small purse again, looking for the latest set of ultrasound pictures. Pulling one of them out, she handed it to Emily. "This is your great-granddaughter."

Looking at the picture, the older woman smiled. "Congratulations."

"Thanks, grandma. You can keep that picture if you want, I made a million copies."

"Thank you." Emily looked up at them, trying to keep her composure. "It's amazing what technology can do these days."

"Yeah, the one sad, pathetic ultrasound I got with you looked like one of those pictures that you have to stare at for hours before you get to see it."

"Not that you did anything else." Emily smiled again before standing up. "I'm going to go check on dinner."

* * *

Later that night, walking into Lorelai's house, Rory grinned, seeing the pink balloons tied to the hallway table, trying to bite down happy tears.

"You got me balloons."

"I said I would." Wrapping her arm around her daughter's shoulders, Lorelai smiled. "This deserves celebrating."

"Mom…thank you. Thank you so much."

"No thanking me!" She shook her head, leading them towards the living room. "I'll go make some coffee, can I get you something?"

"Orange juice?"

"Coming right up."

Walking into the kitchen, Lorelai found a fresh pot of coffee in the machine, smiling to herself at her husband's gesture. Opening the door to Will's room, she peaked in, seeing the toddler fast asleep so she closed it again, grabbing her coffee and a glass of juice for Rory before going back to the living room and sitting on the couch next to her daughter.

"Ok, tell me everything!"

"Everything, what? There's nothing else."

"How did Jess react to the baby being a girl?"

"Jess is… being Jess. I don't think he's stopped smiling since we found out." Rory looked down at her glass, her teeth biting her lip again. "He's amazing."

* * *

_Earlier that day. _

_Leaning in the doorway to their bedroom, a hand hidden behind his back, Jess looked at his wife, who was lying on the bed, reading. _

"_Hard at work?"_

"_Hey, I'm done packing. Even your stuff. I was just waiting for you to get home. And now that you have, we can go. Soon or we'll be late."_

_Hesitating slightly, Jess walked to the bed, sitting down on the edge, his hand still behind his back. _

"_What are you hiding? Oh, is it a book?"_

"_No." He shook his head before moving his hand, pulling out a stuffed giraffe wearing a red and black tutu. "I was going to meet this guy and I saw this in a shop window and…" Jess squirmed, grimacing. "It's slightly stupid but I kind of wanted to do something and…" He shrugged, not finishing this sentence either and Rory sat up, smiling as she placed a soft kiss on his lips._

"_It's not stupid." Taking the toy from him, she hugged it to her chest, wiping her cheeks with the back of her other hand. "It's perfect." _

"_Think she'll like it?"_

"_I think she'll love it." She kissed him again, cupping his face in her hand. "She'll absolutely love it."_

* * *

"Wait, so Jess walked all by himself into a toy shop?"

"Yes." Pulling out her phone, Rory showed her mother a picture of the toy, still beaming with joy.

"That is ridiculously adorable."

"He's totally going to be the favorite." She laughed, drinking from her glass. "Unless she hates him for the name."

"How's the middle name debate going?"

"Slowly. The list is stupidly long."

"Any favorites?"

"Not really. Since he picked the first name, I get to choose whatever I want, even though he has veto power if he absolutely hates it, but I can't make up my mind."

"What's on the list?"

"Everything from Audrey to Vivian."

"Need any help?"

"Not yet. There's more than enough time, and I still have Catherine as a last option in case I can't find anything else I love as much."

Suddenly moving from her place, Lorelai hugged Rory.

"What was that for?" Rory asked when her mother let go, a confused look on her face.

"You just…look so excited and in love and I'm so happy for you, kid, you have no idea."

"You're going to help, right? Because I don't stand a chance of being even half as incredible as you were without your help."

"Yes, you do. You are going to be an amazing mother to that child no matter what. Trust me, ok?" Lorelai tried to reassure her daughter, rubbing her arm. "But I am going to be here, helping you with everything you need."

"Promise?"

"Try and keep me away." Lorelai nodded, smiling. "You're going to have to get restraining orders against me to stop me from helping."

"Thanks."

"It's in the job description, I already told you!" Hugging Rory again, Lorelai smoothed her hair down before going back to her spot, taking the remote. "Movie time?"

"Yes. I'll call Al's."

"There's cake in the fridge."

"So?" Rory tilted her head to the side, pretending to be confused.

"Good point."

* * *

Saturday afternoon, Rory and Lorelai walked into the diner, finding Jess sitting at a table, reading and drinking coffee. Sitting down, Rory dropped the bags she was holding before giving him a quick kiss.

"We're back."

"How much crap did you buy?"

"Seriously, hoodlum? You're asking two women who were dropped with credit cards in shops filled with tiny dresses?"

Pulling out a small ruffly black dress with a safety pin drawn on it, Rory grinned, showing it to Jess. "How cute is this?" Smirking, the man shook his head.

"I see you've embraced the punk revolution when it comes to this kid's clothing."

"Well, she's your daughter." Rory stuck out her tongue. "There's a lot of pastel in there, I just figured you might like this one."

"It's cute." Jess nodded, kissing her quickly. Walking to their table, Luke dropped a couple of mugs on it, leaning down and kissing his wife.

"Good trip?"

Looking in one of her bags, Lorelai pulled out a blue t-shirt and showed it to him. "Look!"

"_My parents are exhausted_." Luke smiled, reading the inscription on the shirt. "You were the one worried that he'd never walk."

"Now we can't seem to catch him." She grinned at her husband again before putting the shirt back in the bag. "Most of the stuff is for their kid though, so don't worry."

"Will already has too many clothes."

"No such thing." Rory smiled, picking up another dress to show her husband. "See? Pastel."

"I like the first one better." He smirked, drinking from his coffee.

"By the way, the town knows. We ran into Miss Patty earlier and she caught me looking at dresses."

"Does this mean I don't have to go tell Liz? I'm sure someone's already informed her."

"Good try."

"Had to." He shrugged, chuckling before pointing at a menu. "Now or do you need lunch before?"

"We can go now, we've already had lunch with Lane. Can I just get some coffee and two donuts to go, please, Luke?"

"Because clearly you need food for the 5 minute walk." Jess smirked, standing up and kissing the top of her head. "I'll go drop all this upstairs and then we can go."

"I'll go get your food. Lorelai?"

"Same as her, I need to go by the inn."

"Ok."

* * *

A few minutes later, they walked in Liz's living room, following the woman. Looking away from the TV, Doula saw her brother and jumped from her place, wrapping her arms around Jess' legs, smiling up at him.

"I missed you!"

Smiling uncomfortable, Jess ruffled her hair, looking from Liz to Rory in the hopes that one of them would save him. Nodding slightly, Rory crouched down in front of the girl.

"Do I get a hug?"

Letting go of Jess, Doula threw her arms around Rory's neck, hugging her as hard as she could. "I have a new doll, wanna see?"

"A bit later, ok?"

"Ok." Letting go of Rory, Doula settled herself in front of the TV again, while everyone else tool their seats.

"Can I get you something to eat or drink?"

"Nope, we come prepared." Rory smiled, lifting her cup of decaf in the air. "We were just at the diner."

"We're just passing by." Jess added, squeezing Rory's free hand. "We kind of have news."

"Good news?"

"Yeah." Jess smiled. "Rory had her ultrasound this week. Everything's fine with the baby."

"Aw, honey, that's great."

"What baby?" Doula jumped from her place again, sitting down in an armchair next to her mother's.

"Doula, we've talked about interrupting grownups when they're talking before, haven't?"

"Uh-huh."

"And?"

"And I shouldn't!" She announced victoriously, making the three adults laugh. "Is this the baby that Miss Patty asks me at ballet?"

"Yeah, it probably is." Rory smiled.

"I've explained to you that Rory and Jess are having a baby, Doula."

"Did the doctor tell you if it's a boy or a girl? Because mom said you don't know and I told her that's stupid because everyone knows what their baby is and then she laughed and said they only know because the doctor tells them and your doctor hadn't told you yet and…"

"Ok, that's enough!" Liz cut her daughter off, laughing.

"It's fine, Liz." Rory replied calmly. "Yes, the doctor told us."

"And?" She hopped down from the chair, walking closer to them, an anxious look on her face.

"It's a girl." Jess ruffled his sister's hair, smiling. Bouncing up and down, the little girl looked from the two to her mother.

"Did you hear that, mommy?"

"Yes, I heard."

"I told you it's going to be a girl because girls are so much better than boys and boys suck." Looking back at Jess, she made a face. "You don't suck and neither does daddy or uncle Luke but all the other boys suck!"

"Well, that's comforting to know." Jess smirked.

"What about Kwan?" Rory winked at the girl, making her blush.

"I…uh…I'm going to go watch TV!" She announced, sitting back down in front of the television. Digging though her purse, Rory pulled out a picture, handing it to Liz. "This is from the latest set, you can keep it if you want to."

"Thank you." Looking at the picture, Liz smiled. "She's very pretty. Have you chosen a name yet?"

"Brett." Jess answered, looking at his wife who was resting her hands on her bump again. "She gets to pick the middle name."

"I think it suits her."

Standing up, Jess looked at his mother. "We should get going; I promised Luke I'd help out with the afternoon rush."

"It was really good seeing you guys." Liz stood up, hugging Jess quickly before moving to hug Rory as well. "I'm so happy for you two."

"Thank you."

* * *

Later that night, Jess and Rory were in the upstairs apartment after the small get-together at Lorelai's house was over. Seeing her fold yet another dress, he smirked, putting his book down.

"Is she going to wear anything other than dresses?"

"We got her a few onesies. Plus, you have to remember, this isn't even close to the piles of clothes I plan on gathering for her before she's born."

"How exciting." He deadpanned, shaking his head slightly. "What it with everyone telling us she's pretty when they see the ultrasound picture?" He started ranting, taking a deep breath. "It's fucking ridiculous. Sure, she looks human now, but that's about it. The damned thing looks like every other ultrasound picture ever!"

"How many ultrasound pictures have you seen?"

"Enough to know they all look the freaking same!"

"Fine." Rory rolled her eyes, putting the dress in one of the piles before grabbing another one. "What do you want them to say then? 'What a nice child you're going to have, she looks human'?"

"Preferable."

"Jess, even you said she looks pretty."

"Well, she's our daughter. I'm allowed to." He chuckled, looking at her. Biting her lip, she wiped her cheeks quickly and Jess stood up, rushing to her when she saw the tears.

"What's wrong?" He put his hands on her arms but she smiled, sniffling as her hand went to rub her bump.

"Nothing. You just…you said 'our daughter'. And she has a name and I've felt her move and it all just felt so…real for a second."

"It is real."

"I know. But most of the time I'm worried or planning something or just trying to get to the end of the day without running into too many things because I keep expanding and I don't think about the fact that it will end sooner rather than later and we'll have a baby."

"It's not that soon." He pulled her into a hug, kissing her temple when she rested her head on his shoulder.

"It doesn't matter. They were happy tears."

"I give up." Jess chuckled, pulling back and kissing her softly.

"Good choice. And if you think this is confusing, wait until she's a teenager."

"I'll be too old to care by then." He smiled, running his thumb down her cheek, trying to wipe away a smudge. "Need any help with the folding?"

"You hate folding clothes."

"It will help you be done faster." He cocked an eyebrow, glancing at the bed.

"Go sit down, I don't have much left." Rory snickered, pushing him away.

"As you wish." Placing one last kiss on her lips, Jess crashed back down on the bed, picking up his book again.


	41. Ding, dong, the witch is dead

**A/N: Thank you for the reviews, you guys are all awesome. I know my timing on the house thing is a bit off, but...eh, creative license ;).**

**jillian, Matt(or Matthew) is one of the Truncheon boys. He's on the show for about 2 minutes in season 6, "The Real Paul Anka". **

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**Ding, dong, the witch is dead**

Monday evening, Rory sat down on the couch, putting her feet up and grabbing her phone out of her purse. Sitting down next to her, Jess picked up the remote, turning the TV on while one of his hands was mindlessly rubbing her feet.

"Three weeks!" She yelped happily as soon as her mother answered the phone.

"_What?"_

"We move in three weeks. Well technically, more like two and a half weeks, since we get the keys on a Friday."

"_Seriously?"_

"Yep. We signed everything. Jess and I have now joined the ranks of the real grownups and own a house." She grinned, ruffling his hair and he pretended to be disgusted, smirking at the same time.

"Must you refer to me as…that?"

"Yes."

"_Tell him I said that there's no way for him to escape the grownup label." _Lorelai laughed, shaking her head. _"The sooner he accepts it…"_

"Would you like me to hand him the phone so you can tell him yourself?"

"_No, I'm good."_ Lorelai announced, snickering again. _"Luke waves hello."_

"Wave hello back. How's my baby brother?"

"_Making his dad chase him around the house."_

"Aw, sweet."

"_Don't worry, I'm taping this. I'll send you the video later."_

"Thanks." Rory smiled, looking down at her bump, an image of Jess chasing their daughter around the house flashing before her eyes.

"_Anyway, congratulations on the house, kid. I can't wait to see it."_

"You're coming over as soon as we're moved, right?"

"_No, I'm coming over to help you move! Lane said she's dragging Zach as well. I refused Kirk's offer, since I kind of assumed that you wouldn't want him there, but I'm sure you can always call him and he'll be more than happy to charge for his moving services."_

"Thank you."

"_Motherly duty and all that."_ She shook her head, grinning. _"I'm sure it's somewhere in the handbook."_

"There's a handbook? Where do I apply for my copy?"

"_Don't worry, I hear you get it after about 50 years of being a mom. I'm still waiting for mine."_

"That is not helpful." Rory laughed, shaking her head.

"_Hon, I need to go, Luke looks like he's about ready to cry."_

"Give Will a kiss for me."

"_Poke Brett back for me."_ Lorelai smiled, making Rory grin as well.

"Will do. Bye, mom."

"_Bye." _

Putting the phone on the table, Rory curled up to Jess, smiling when he kissed the top of her head. "We have a house, Jess. Officially."

"Does this mean you're going to stop being worried about us bringing the kid home to this?" He pointed around him, smirking.

"I'll give it my best try." Rubbing her bump, she looked down at it. "You get to have your own room, baby. You won't sleep in a drawer."

"I highly doubt she cares where she's sleeping."

"So you want her sharing our room for the next 5 years?"

"Good point." He chuckled, kissing her head again. "We calling for dinner to celebrate this properly?"

"Oh, yeah. Definitely." Sighing as a feeling of content came over her, she cuddled closer to her husband. "I'm happy, Jess. So happy."

"Yeah…me too." Jess admitted, smiling as well and she lifted her head, pressing a soft kiss on his lips.

"I love you."

* * *

A few days later, Jess walked into the bedroom, finding Rory lying on the bed, poking her stomach. He shook his head, smirking.

"Should I even ask what you're doing?"

"Playing with your kid." She grinned, lifting her head to look at him. "She's kicking me again."

"And you're…?"

"Poking her back. I have no more house descriptions to read to her, I need to keep her entertained somehow."

"Heaven forbid our fetus gets bored."

"My book was far away, I didn't feel like getting it."

"And…"

"And I love feeling her kick."

A smile appearing on his lips, Jess walked to the bed. Sitting down next to her, he watched as she took his hand and placed it on her bump. "I'm sorry you don't get to have fun with this yet."

"I'll live."

"I'm not sure I will, I want you to get to feel it as well."

"Stop worrying about me, crazy woman."

"I like worrying about you." She lifted her hand, running it slowly through his hair. "I want you to be as much a part of this as possible."

"Ror…"

"I know." She smiled, picking up his hand and placing a small kiss on it before placing it back on her bump. "You're good? You're not feeling excluded or anything?"

Taking a deep breath, Jess rolled his eyes, smirking. "No."

"Promise?"

"If I do, will you stop being paranoid?"

"No." Rory grinned. Leaning down, he kissed her softly, smiling.

"I promise anyway."

"Thank you."

"I'm done with dinner, want to go pop in a movie and eat or are you going to keep doing this?"

"I can multitask." She laughed, extending her hands, waiting for him to help her up. "Can we watch _The Wizard of Oz_? Please, Jess, please." She started pouting, batting her eyelashes quickly and he smirked.

"I haven't even said no and you're already pouting?"

"I know you're going to say no."

"Crystal ball?"

"You never want to watch it with me. I'm just pulling out the big guns preemptively."

"Fine, we'll watch it, but tomorrow night, it's _Fight Club_."

"We can even get Thai food." She grinned, kissing the corner of his mouth before sitting down on the couch as he put in the DVD before joining her. "We'll need to find new take-away places."

"What?" Jess looked at her, the remote in his hand.

"After we move. All of the ones we usually order from will be too far away."

"Maybe there'll be a decent pizza places that doesn't take an hour and a half to deliver."

"God, I hope so. A good Chinese place is a must though."

"So what, if there isn't one…?"

"We're selling the house again and moving." Rory grinned, grabbing her plate from the table and looking at him. "Start the movie, will you?"

A while later, Jess looked down at Rory, who was curled up in his arms, hearing her sniffle. Smoothing her hair down, he paused the movie.

"What's wrong?"

"She's dead!"

"Who? The Wicked Witch?"

"Yeah!" Sniffling again, she sat up on the couch, grabbing a tissue from the box on the coffee table.

"You're…seriously crying over this?" Jess blinked a few times, shaking his head, trying to understand what was happening.

"But she's dead, Jess! First her sister gets killed and then Dorothy kills her and oh, my God, poor Auntie Em! She's crying over Dorothy and she doesn't know she's safe and she's made friends that are taking care of her but no one cares about the poor witch!"

Biting the inside of his lip in a desperate attempt not to laugh, Jess rubbed her knee sympathetically. "Ror, it's a character in a kids' movie."

"But she used to be someone's baby too! And that poor mother lost both of her daughters because of that brat! She could have just handed her the shoes and then it would have all been fine!"

"But then Dorothy…"

"Dorothy would have been just fine, it's all a stupid dream anyway!"

"So…if you remember that part, why are you crying over the witches?"

"Because they're dead!" She started weeping again, blowing her nose. "And Auntie Em, imagine how worried she must be!"

"I give up." He finally chuckled, shrugging.

"What's so funny?"

"You're crying over _The Wizard of Oz_. Even you have to admit it's slightly ridiculous."

"I don't get what the hell's so ridiculous!" She grumbled, crossing her arms across her chest. "Just because you don't see it, it doesn't mean you need to make fun of me!" Standing up, she walked to the bedroom, glaring at him one more time before slamming the door closed. Shaking his head, Jess picked up his phone, dialing Luke's number.

"She's gone crazy." He smirked, glancing at the door.

"_Rory?"_

"She was crying over _The Wizard of Oz_."

"_Lorelai cried over a car ad."_ The older man smiled sympathetically, nodding.

"It gets worse from here, doesn't it?"

"_Yeah." _

"And there's nothing I can do?"

"_Ice cream seemed to calm Lorelai down, have you tried that?"_

Shaking his head, Jess chuckled. "Not yet. I suppose me laughing didn't help either."

"_Bad mistake."_

"My chances of not sleeping on the couch tonight are…?"

"_Grab the ice cream, knock on the door, let her rant about how mean you were and how you don't get it and then it'll be fine. And do it fast before she has a chance to think about it too much."_

"Thanks, Luke."

"_Any time."_

"Bye."

"_Goodbye."_

Dropping the phone on the table again, Jess picked up the box of ice cream and a spoon from the kitchen before walking to the bedroom, knocking on the door.

"Go away!" Rory yelled from the other side of the room, still angry.

"I have ice cream."

"I don't care. I don't want to see you."

"Ror, it's my bedroom too, you can't keep me out just because you want to. Plus, there isn't a lock on the door, so I'm only knocking to give you a chance to pick up something heavy to throw at my head."

Opening the door, Rory glared at him. "Fine, you go in, I'll go for a walk!"

"Didn't we agree that I was the one that had to go if we got in a fight?"

"Well, you don't freaking seem to get it!" She huffed again, crossing her arms across her chest, eyeing the ice cream at the same time.

"Peace offering." He extended his hand, waving the box in front of her. "I'm sorry."

"What are you sorry for?"

"Whatever I did that made you mad." He smirked and she grabbed the box from him.

"Do I get a spoon as well or do you want me to eat with my hands?"

"Only after you forgive me." Jess chuckled, lifting the spoon in the air and she tried to grab it, but he pulled his hand back, catching her wrist with his other hand. "Nope."

"I'll just get another spoon." Rory smiled, still trying to hold on to her anger.

"I'll hide them. And the teaspoons. Even the knives and forks if I have to."

"You're being silly." Relaxing, she pouted, looking at him. "Please, can I have the spoon?" She asked in a childish voice, making him chuckle.

"I'm the silly one?" Leaning closer, he placed a soft kiss on her lips before handing her the spoon.

"I know it's stupid to you, but the movie just…" Shrugging, she bit her lip and Jess nodded.

"I suppose I'll have to pretend I get it from now on."

"I'll try to not go crazy on you if that helps."

"I'd appreciate it." Walking inside the bedroom, he sat on the edge of the bed and she walked closer to him, grinning when he kissed her bump. "Be nicer to your mom, kid."

"It's not her fault." Rory ran her free hand through his hair, smiling down at him. "We're the ones to blame for this particular situation."

"I have a feeling alcohol may have played a part as well." Smirking, he rubbed her leg and she sat down next to him, opening the box of ice cream and starting to dig through it. "So, no more movies from now on?"

"I'll keep the box of Kleenex on hand and not tell you why I'm crying, just so you don't have a chance to mock me and I don't get pissed off about it. At least not tell you until I'm calm and can laugh about it as well." Shaking her head, she looked at him, the spoon sticking out of her mouth. "Did I honestly start crying because the witch died?"

"Yes." He smirked, kissing her cheek.

"I'm sorry."

"I'll live." He rubbed her leg, placing a soft kiss on her shoulder.

* * *

A week later, Jess was sleeping when a loud noise from the living room woke him up. Looking at the clock, he noticed it was close to 3AM so he glanced at the other side of the bed, worried until he saw it was empty. Letting out a noise closely resembling a growl, he pulled a shirt on before walking to the living room. Finding Rory sitting on the floor, surrounded by books and boxes, he shook his head, blinking a few times.

"This is a dream, isn't it?"

"I'm sorry about the noise." Rory shook her head, her teeth biting her lip. "I was reaching for something and the books fell so…"

"You ok?"

"Yes. They didn't get me." She smiled, picking up two books and putting them in a box.

"So…do I get to know what the hell you're doing?"

"Packing."

"Why?"

"Because we're moving and I need to pack!" She announced, pushing the box away from her, frustrated. "If you're awake, you can help."

"I don't want to be awake. Bed. Sleep. I like it." He pointed to the bedroom, walking to her and sitting on the floor, trying to stay calm. "Come back to bed with me."

"No! I have to pack!" She grumbled, glaring at him. "You can go back to sleep. I'll try to keep it down."

"Why can it not wait until the weekend, for the love of all things?"

"Because it can't!"

"Ror…what's going on here?" He rubbed her knee, trying to stifle a yawn at the same time.

"Other than the fact that we're moving in a week and we still haven't packed? Nothing!"

"We were going to pack this weekend. That's why we're not going to your freak town. We had this planned."

"Well, I've unplanned it! I don't care, you can go to sleep, I'll do everything I can and then leave whatever's left for tomorrow night and the weekend."

"You're going to be exhausted tomorrow at work."

"I'll deal. Now if you're not going to help, get out of my way."

"Not until you tell me what's really wrong." He shook his head, taking her hand when she reached for another book.

"It's Thursday."

"Yes." He nodded, looking at her as she chewed on her lip. "And? There's one of them every week, it's not that much of a surprise."

"Yes, but I'm 20 weeks pregnant today! Do you know what that means?" She continued, not giving him a chance to reply. "It means I'm halfway through this!" She pointed at her bulging stomach, tears gathering in the corners of her eyes. "I am not ready to be halfway done! We were supposed to have moved and I should be getting things ready for her and she doesn't have a crib or a changing table or a freaking car seat! We can't even bring our daughter home from the hospital, Jess! So I need to pack because I have to do something and I can't buy things for her because we don't have the space to store them. I can't stand the fact that everything we buy is in Luke's old place! And don't tell me to do research, because I can talk for hours about different types of car seats and which one is the safest!"

"Ok." He smiled, hugging her close to him and placing kisses on her head. "I'll help you pack."

"No, Jess, go back to sleep."

"You're going to be awake, I'm going to be awake." He wiped her cheeks when she pulled back to look at him. "What do you want me to do?"

"Jess…"

"I don't care. I can't do anything more than to help you pack. I don't have some sort of magic wand to make it next week and have us in our new place so that you can buy anything you want for her."

"You don't have to do anything." She finally smiled, cupping his face in her hand and tracing his bottom lip with her finger.

"But you're stressing out."

"It doesn't matter. Let's go to bed."

"What?"

"Help me up."

Standing up, Jess extended his hands, pulling her up and they walked to the bedroom, lying in bed. Resting her head on his chest, Rory smiled, hugging him close. "Thank you."

"You need to tell me these things before I find you packing in the middle of the night."

"I was doing ok until tonight." She shrugged, looking at him. "Mostly ok, anyway. And then I woke up and I started thinking and I had to pack."

"You know we still have a lot of time."

"Yes. But I want to be able to do things for her. Get her room ready and rearrange it a million times…it's stupid, but it means something to me."

"You will. Give it one more week." He smiled, kissing her forehead.

"Can we start packing tomorrow night?"

"Yes."

"Thanks." She rubbed her eyes, kissing his shoulder. "And you don't hate me for constantly going crazy on you?"

"It might not make a lot of sense to me most of the time, but I don't hate you. Wish I could make it stop? Yeah." He admitted honestly, chuckling. "But I can deal with 9 months of you being unusually psychotic if it means we get to have a kid at the end of it."

"That is probably one of the sweetest things I've ever heard you say, barring your proposal and vows."

"You only think that because you're hormonal." Jess teased, flipping over, supporting himself with one hand while the other started tracing lines on her bump. "So…halfway there, huh?"

"That's the official math."

"That means four weeks away from…"

"Yes." Rory smiled at his veiled concern, running her fingers through his hair. "She's going to be ok."

"How do you know?"

"She's your kid, she's too stubborn to not want to inflict all sorts of pain on us for as long as possible."

"Oh, please, 'cause you're so easy going."

"You love me, really."

"Yeah, I do." He shrugged, kissing her. "If I go back to sleep, I won't wake up again to you trying to pack the pillows?"

"No." Rory shook her head. "My energy has been consumed."

"All of it?" He cocked an eyebrow, smirking. "Because, since you woke me up…"

"Shut up." Laughing, she covered his mouth with hers, tangling her fingers in his hair again.


	42. Packing, take 1!

**A/N: Flashback-y chapter for your enjoyment. Hopefully, anyway. Thank you for the reviews, you're all so very awesome.**

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* * *

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**Packing, take 1!**

Saturday morning, Jess walked into the kitchen, finding Rory chewing on a Pop-Tart, an almost empty cup of coffee next to her. Putting her book down, she smiled at him, standing up and giving him a quick kiss.

"Coffee?"

"You're awake." He grumbled, making a face. "Why are you awake?"

"I wanted to start packing."

"Come back to bed." Starting to trace kisses down her jaw, he smiled, sensing her resolution starting to falter. Pulling back suddenly, she shook her head.

"Can't. Need to pack. You can go back to sleep if you want." She kissed the corner of his mouth quickly before going to the coffee machine.

"I said bed, not sleep." Jess smirked again, walking to her and putting his arms on either side of her, kissing her again. "We'll pack later."

"Jess, I was too tired to do anything last night. Now, while you know well enough I wouldn't refuse your offer on a normal day, I really want to get this done as soon as possible."

"But it's a Saturday. We won't get to stay in bed as long as we want for much longer." He ran his thumb over her stomach, smiling. Rolling her eyes and smiling, she tangled her fingers through his.

"I suppose a couple of hours..."

"Good call." He smirked, placing another kiss on her lips.

"You're a bad influence."

* * *

Later that afternoon, Rory walked up to her husband, wrapping her arms around his waist and kissing the back of his neck.

"Let me help."

"You're helping. You're putting boxes together." He smirked, turning around to look at her, a couple of books in each hand.

"Jess, I've made so many boxes we could pack the entire state if we wanted to. Let me help." She asked again, rolling her eyes.

"I don't have much left really." He shook his head again.

"How about I go pack our summer clothes? It's not like I can hurt myself with clothes."

"Most of the t-shirts are on the top shelf. The dresser's old. It could fall and hurt you." He kissed her cheek, making her grumble. "You managed to make things fall while putting away books, humor me on this."

"But Jess..."

"I know I'm being insane. I am fully aware of that. But it's just…" He hesitated, shrugging and Rory nodded.

"I'll go label and tape the boxes you finished." She smiled, kissing him quickly before heading to the pile of boxes.

"Thanks." Jess smiled before dropping the books in another box. A few minutes later, Rory put down the black marker she had been using, looking back at him.

"Remember when we moved in here?"

"You're going to get all sentimental now? I thought I had one more week before that happened." He smirked, still packing the books.

"Just…thinking."

* * *

_A few years before. _

_Picking up the phone, she waited for Jess to answer, tapping her foot impatiently. _

"'_Ello." He grumbled, his voice tired and coarse._

"_I woke you up. Shoot." Realizing, Rory smiled apologetically even though he couldn't see her. "I didn't mean to."_

"_We went drinking last night. What time is it?"_

"_Your time? 11."_

"_Shit." He cursed, sitting up in bed. "I don't think Truncheon's going to be open for business today."_

"_Must be nice to be able to do that." She smiled, remembering why she had called him. "Oh, I have news!"_

"_Can it wait for coffee? I'd appreciate them much more if the pounding in my head stopped."_

"_Aw, you poor thing."_

"_Drinking bad, okay?" He smirked, standing up and going to the kitchen, turning on the coffee machine. _

"_Drinking very bad. How's the coffee going?" She asked anxiously. _

"_Getting there. Tell me." He smiled, knowing she didn't want to wait. _

"_But you're…"_

"_Ror?"_

"_I have an interview!" She grinned, biting her lip. "I know it's kind of jumping the gun scheduling interviews already when I'm not even done with this job yet but I really want to do this!" _

"_What's the job?" He poured coffee in a mug, taking a sip before spitting it back as the too hot liquid burned his mouth. "In the future, remind me…"_

"_To let the coffee cool down before you drink it?"_

"_Yes."_

"_And maybe drink water before going to sleep." She smiled._

"_That too. Ok, you were telling me about your interview."_

"_Oh, yeah, I was just getting to the best part. Guess what paper it's for!"_

"_From your excitement, can I assume it's somewhere close to Philly?"_

"_It's better than close. It's for the Inquirer." Rory smiled taking a deep breath. "As in the one in Philadelphia!" _

"_That's…" He hesitated, not knowing what to say._

"_That's not good?" Rory bit her lip, trying to not get too disappointed._

"_No, Ror, that's good. That's…really good." Jess smiled, drinking from his coffee. _

"_You sure? You're not just saying that…?"_

"_I'm sure. It just took me a while to process. Slow moving brain today." He nodded, still smiling. "When is it?"_

"_Phone interview next week and then, if that goes well, a real one in three weeks after this job's done." _

"_Congrats."_

"_God, I can't believe I'm three weeks away from this being over. And that I could possibly be moving closer to you. It's like I've been doing this forever and I really want to be done so I can just…sleep on the same pillow for more than a week at a time."_

"_Not closer, with me." He shrugged, waiting for her reaction. _

"_What…?" She asked, breathless._

"_If we're going to be in the same city, I want to live with you. It's stupid to have two separate places." _

"_But…you're…and…me…and…"_

"_I'm sorry, you have nothing to say? Really?" He accentuated the word 'you', smirking. "This is a first." _

"_Jess, this is…"_

"_We don't have to."_

"_No, I want to." She nodded, smiling again. "I really, really want to."_

"_You sure?"_

"_Hey, now that I've recovered from you springing it on me…yes." She nodded again. "I love you."_

* * *

"I love you." Rory stood up again, walking to Jess and placing a kiss on his shoulder. "We have a lot of good memories of this place."

"Yeah, I have a few particularly good ones of that couch." He cocked an eyebrow and she slapped his arm, laughing.

"Well, better commit them to memory because there won't be any of that after the baby comes."

"I'm sure we can get away with some fun while she's still immobile." He smirked, kissing her.

Rubbing her bump, Rory looked down at it. "Cover your ears, Brett, your parents are being all disgusting again."

"We'll be paying for her therapy anyway, what's one more thing added to the list?"

"Poor kid, you don't stand a chance." Kissing him again, she smiled, running her fingers through his hair. "I'll miss all this."

"Please focus on the fact that you get to fix her room after we move, I don't want you to start crying again."

"I'm a girl, I'm allowed to be sentimental." Pressing one more kiss to his lips, she went back to her boxes. "How are you going to deal when there's two of us?"

"Hiding comes to mind."

"She's protesting your plans. You may be forced to watch _Terms of Endearment_ countless times with us." Rory pointed at her bulging stomach, grinning.

"Kicking you again?"

"Like crazy."

"Ok, amuse yourself with that then while I finish packing the books."

"You're perfect."

"Five minutes ago I was overprotective and crazy."

"You're a man of many skills. You can be all those things at the same time." She grinned, picking up the roll of duct tape from the floor. "Whatever happened to cheese wheel guy?"

"He's somewhere in Iowa, painting wheat."

"You're kidding me."

"He sends us updates from time to time, promising to show his paintings at Truncheon next time he's in the state."

* * *

"_I think I may have found us a place." Jess announced one evening, walking in his bedroom, where they had been living for the three months since Rory's campaign job had ended. _

"_Don't tease, I don't think I can take it." She smiled, looking up from her book. _

"_No, this sounds good. One of the painters is moving west and is looking for someone to take over his apartment. I've been there a couple of times, it's good. We can go see it tomorrow if we want to."_

"_How good is good?"_

"_One bedroom, great living room, windows, shelves…" Shrugging, he threw himself on the bed next to her and kissed her knee. "It's worth a look." _

"_Ok. What time?"_

"_Whenever, I'll give him a call." _

"_Thank you." She slid down the bed, kissing him. "Is he any good?"_

"_Who?"_

"_The painter."_

"_Does it make a difference?"_

"_I'm curious." _

"_He's the guy with the cheese wheels."_

"_Aw, he's moving? Mom loves his stuff."_

"_Like anyone needed more proof that your mother's insane." He chuckled, cupping her face in his hand and kissing her. _

* * *

"He was a nice guy." Rory nodded, pocking her bump. "Your dad gets to meet really fun people."

"You mean insane. Brett's not going near Truncheon when the lunatics are there."

"Aw, but I want her to know Matthew." She grinned, laughing.

"He'll be the one exception." Putting the last books in a box, he walked to her, sitting down on the floor as well. "Books done. I've left room in that box for the ones in the bedroom, so we have enough to read this week but they'll still go somewhere. What next?"

"Summer clothes, I think. We have to leave the kitchen stuff for Friday or so."

"We can pack it now and live on take-away for the next week."

"Sounds good." She leaned closer, kissing him. "On one condition."

"Which I'm not going to like, am I?"

"Let me at least help wrap stuff. You can get everything out, I'll wrap it and put it in boxes. I promise I won't lift anything heavier than a plate. I'm feeling useless."

"Nothing heavier than a plate." He nodded, kissing her forehead.

"Finally!"

"Your mother can't humor me for even 10 minutes." Jess leaned down, kissing her bump.

"Hey, I'll have you know I've been good for an hour!" She tried to protest, still smiling. "I won't move boxes, I won't lift anything heavy. Promise."

"Thank you."

"You know that I love you even more for being insanely protective of us, right?" Rory rubbed her bump, placing a soft kiss on his lips. "It drives me crazy, but I like it."

"Don't say that, I'll never stop."

"Jess, I know my limits. I won't do anything to hurt myself or her."

"I know."

"Then?"

"I'll only tell you if you promise you won't mock me for this." He smirked, pushing a strand of hair behind her ear.

"Promise."

"I really should know better than this by now." He chuckled, kissing her forehead again while his hand cupped her face. "It's the only thing I can do."

"What?"

"It's not like you need me for much around here when it comes to the baby. Sure, I'd be useful for midnight store runs, in case that ever happened, but that's about it. And I'm fully aware that it's completely stupid, but at least this way I feel like I'm keeping you two safe. I know you can pack stuff and you wouldn't do anything to risk getting hurt, but I need to do something."

"I can send you to the store in the middle of the night." Rory smiled, cupping his face in both her hands and placing quick kisses on his cheeks and mouth, making him laugh again.

"I'm surprisingly good without that."

"I love you, Jess."

"I know, that's why you married me."

"And for your awesome sense of humor and ability to ruin moments." She snickered, pressing a soft, lingering kiss on his lips. "I don't have to pack if it will make you feel better."

"Do whatever makes you happy."

"You can get everything out, I'll wrap and pack. Deal?"

"Deal." He smirked, standing up and extending his hands, helping her up. "Kitchen or clothes?"

"Kitchen. It's the perfect excuse to justify my craving for Thai food."

Walking into the kitchen, Jess grabbed a couple of empty boxes on the way, dropping them on the counter. As he started to pull out the plates and put them on the counter, Rory wrapped her arms around him, kissing the back of his neck.

"I need you around here. We both do. Even though you don't think so, we do…trust me."

Squeezing her hand, he smiled before she let go, starting to wrap a plate.

* * *

"_How is it that we barely own three plates and one bowl between the two of us?" Rory smiled, taking his hand as they walked through the store._

"_Oh, please, I'm surprised you own any plates, giving you habit of living on take-away alone."_

"_Of course I do. I needed something to put food on to microwave it all at once." She grinned, kissing his cheek. _

"_Why are we looking at plates when we don't even have a place yet?"_

"_Because your painter couldn't show us around since he was inspired and asked us to come back in two hours."_

"_We could go for coffee. There's a coffee shop not far from here."_

"_No." Rory shook her head._

"_Did you just refuse coffee? You dying or something?"_

_"No, but I don't want to find some great coffee place and get my hopes high and then not be able to go there every day if we hate the apartment."_

"_I told you it's a nice place."_

"_You'd say that about any place where we'd be able to live alone."_

"_Can you blame me? Chris had very unfortunate timing last night." _

_Blushing, she glared at him. "Nothing was going to happen."_

"_Considering where your hands were heading, I highly doubt it. Or, you know, what happened the second we were in my room." _

"_Keep that up and you're never getting any again." _

"_I need to marry you before that happens." He chuckled, putting his arm on her shoulders and kissing her head as she leaned closer._

"_Don't say that, you'll get my hopes all high."_

"_What, you're hoping we'll never have sex again if we get married?"_

"_No, but I might start hoping we'll get married. Someday. Not any time soon." She rectified, looking at him. _

"_And? Why is that a bad thing?"_

"_Jess…I…" She shrugged, pulling back to be able to look at him better. "We don't have to have this conversation now." _

"_What conversation?" He smirked, slightly confused._

"_Marriage is a big deal."_

"_I know. I don't see why you're so convinced you shouldn't think we'll get married someday." _

"_Because…I don't know." She bit her lip, moving to the side as someone tried to walk past them in the small aisle. "It never occurred to me you'd want that." _

"_Why wouldn't I?" He chuckled, amused by her squirming. _

"_Because you're you!" _

"_Uh-huh. Good line of thought, I can completely see your point now." _

"_Jess, I love you, you know that, but you don't exactly make me think picket fence, golden retriever, 2.4 kids." _

"_And that means you thought I'm opposed to marrying you?" _

"_Well, it seems silly if you say it like that." Rory smiled. _

"_It is silly." He hugged her, placing a soft kiss on her lips. "We'll do it someday." _

"_Properly? Something more than a courtroom wedding?" _

"_White dress, flowers, all that crap." Jess nodded, smirking as he kissed her again. "Although I'm not sure how good I'd look in a dress, I'll give it a try."_

_Shaking her head, Rory laughed before taking his hand, walking towards a set of plates on a shelf. "I like these ones." _

* * *

As soon as they were done stacking most of the plates in a box, Rory turned around, pointing at a cabinet.

"Pots and pans after lunch?"

"Sure." He glanced at his watch quickly. "Although I think it may be a bit too late for lunch."

"Whatever. Let me grab different shoes first."

"Where are we going?"

"What about the coffee shop? We need to tell Sonia we're moving."

"She might go out of business without you here."

"I'll miss that place." Rory smiled before heading out of the room, changing her shoes. "We have to come back someday, she's been saying she can't wait to meet the baby."

"You need to be less friendly with everyone." Jess smirked, his arms crossed across his chest as he looked at her.

"I can't help it, it's Luke syndrome."

"Luke syndrome? This is going to be good, isn't it?"

"Well, he's always been so nice to me, even before him and mom started dating, that I can't help but think every diner owner is the same. Really, he's my step-father, that's got to tell you something."

"It's telling me you're insane, but that's not unusual."

"Why did I marry you?" Rory rolled her eyes, kissing him. "Your dad's very lucky I love him." She rubbed her stomach, grinning.

"Yeah, I am." Jess smiled, opening the door.

* * *

"_Oh, my God, that place is awesome!" Rory gushed as an older woman walked up to their table, an order pad in her hand. _

"_What can I get you, guys?"_

"_Coffee, cheeseburger, fries, onion rings and cheery pie for dessert, please."_

"_I like a girl that can eat." The woman smiled before turning her attention to Jess. "You?"_

"_Just a burger and fries. And a Coke." He added and the woman nodded again._

"_Ok, I'll go get this ready, holler if you need anything more. I'll send one of the girls over with your drinks." _

"_Did you see all the windows and the space and rent is decent and it's just perfect for us." Rory started again as soon as they were alone, holding Jess' hand. "You were right, it is good."_

"_Judging by your expression, you'd think it was the Taj Mahal."_

"_No, it's just everything we've been looking for." _

"_Ok, I'll call John back later and tell him we'll take it."_

"_John?" She asked, tilting her head to the side, slightly confused._

"_Rainbow." Jess snorted, rolling his eyes. "His name's John."_

"_So he's voluntarily…"_

"_He's insane." He nodded, smirking. "Trust me, I won't miss him."_

"_We finally have our own place." She grinned, picking up his hand and placing a kiss on his palm. Walking up to their table, a waitress dropped their drinks before leaving again. Taking a sip from her coffee, Rory's smile grew even more, squeezing his hand again. "Definitely meant to be."_


	43. Take two!

**A/N: Thank you for the reviews, you're all awesome!**

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**Take two!**

"We have keys!" Rory grinned, hugging Jess tightly as soon as they walked out of the real estate agent's office. "Keys to our house."

"Want to go check it out?" Jess offered, placing a quick kiss on her lips.

"Really?"

"You heard Tammy, it's our place now, we can do whatever we want."

"Yes, please!" She beamed happily again, letting go of him, taking his hand instead and starting to drag him towards their car. A couple of minutes later, they were driving down the street, Rory's hands playing on her bump.

"We need to go buy food for everyone tomorrow morning."

"What time are they getting here?"

"10-ish. We'll have breakfast and then start moving."

"Furniture delivery guys are getting there at…?"

"Somewhere between 12 and 6."

"Helpful." Jess rolled his eyes, glancing at her. "Are the kids coming?"

"Nope. Liz is watching them." Rory ruffled his hair, smiled. "She offered to come over as well, but we already have far too many people moving stuff."

"You need to be less likeable, we have too many people trying to help."

"Hey, the more people helping, the faster everything gets done."

"No one but you goes near the books." Jess shook his head, smirking. "Chris is the only one that has any idea how to properly organize books. Matt does his by vibe and I don't even want to think what system your mother or Lane would use."

"We won't have shelves until they deliver everything, anyway."

"Luke will kill us for buying shelves instead of letting him make them, won't he?"

"Don't tell TJ, he will as well."

"I'm less concerned about TJ." Jess smirked, stopping at a red light. "I hate traffic."

"I don't care, we're going to our house!" She smiled again, clapping her hands excitedly. "We're going home, baby. Which room should she get?"

"I don't know. We'll decide when we're there."

"Have you gotten enough of furniture shopping for the rest of your life or can we go look for a crib and stuff soon?"

"We can go." Jess nodded, glancing at her, smiling. "Have you decided what we're doing with her room?"

"Nope. Any ideas?"

"No." He shook his head, pulling into the driveway to their house. "You think Tammy showed us this one first because it's so close to her office?"

"I don't care!" She giggled again, getting out of the car and he followed, catching up to her standing in front of the house, looking at it. Wrapping his arms around her from behind, Jess placed a soft kiss on her shoulder.

"You happy?"

"I am so happy." She nodded, twisting her neck and kissing him quickly. "I love you."

"I love you too. Ready to go inside?"

Rory nodded again, taking his hand and walking to the front door, taking the keys out of her pocket.

* * *

_A few years before. _

_Sitting on the floor in an almost empty living room, Rory shot from her place, kissing Jess. _

"_We're home."_

_Lying down on the carpet and taking her with him, Jess kissed the top of her head, hugging her closer. "Yeah, we are." _

"_I have a good feeling about this place." She smiled, looking up at him. "We're going to be happy here, aren't we?"_

"_I'll try my best to make sure you are." He whispered, kissing her forehead. _

"_Just…be here. That's enough."_

"_You're easy to please, aren't you?" Jess chuckled, cupping her face in his hand and kissing her softly. "I am here."_

"_For a very long time?"_

"_Yeah." He nodded again and she moved up, straddling him, intertwining their fingers together. _

"_I go full on bunny boiler on you if you don't." _

"_Oh, dangerous. What did I get myself into?" He smirked, making her laugh._

"_You have no idea." Leaning down, she kissed him, releasing his hands to be able to hold herself up. He slid his hands under her shirt, not letting her move. _

"_I love you." Jess smiled, pulling her bottom lip between his teeth. _

* * *

Walking in the empty living room, Rory turned around, hugging Jess again.

"This is perfect." Wiping her eyes quickly, she smiled, biting her lip. "You still like it?"

"Yeah, I do." He smiled softly, cupping her face in his hand, not bothering to look around him.

"I was talking about the house." Rory laughed, kissing him.

"I don't care about the house, as long as you're happy."

"As long as you're here…"

"I've heard that one before." He kissed her again before draping his arm over her shoulders, tilting his head towards the stairs. "Go on, let's go pick a room for the spawn."

* * *

Saturday morning, Rory opened the front door to their apartment, finding Lorelai standing on the other side.

"Luke's downstairs trying to find a good parking space."

"Matthew and Chris are on their way as well." Rory replied, moving out of the way, letting her mother inside the house. "Lane and Zach…"

"Are driving the Jeep over, they were right behind us. They should be here soon."

"Did you bring…?"

"The baby's stuff? Of course." Lorelai grinned, rubbing her daughter's arm. "Relax; you have nothing to worry about. Where's Jess?"

"Getting breakfast ready. We have furniture delivery guys coming over any time after noon, I have to…"

"Thank God you're here." Jess walked in the room, smiling at the woman. "Make her calm down, I beg you."

"Jess! We have…" Rory tried to start again but he cut her off midsentence.

"Yes, I know." He nodded, rolling his eyes. "She's been making lists the entire week, I can't take it anymore."

"Can't take what?" Luke asked, walking inside the house, wrapping his arm around Lorelai's waist.

"Nothing, Jess is just being mean." Rory laughed, making a face.

"So, breakfast?" Lorelai asked, making Jess chuckle.

"Go sit down, I'll get out the first round of pancakes." Kissing Rory's cheek, he smiled softly. "You too, I'll bring your coffee over."

"I love you." She leaned over, whispering in his ear before going and sitting down on the couch, Lorelai following her.

"Need help?" Luke smiled at his nephew.

"I'm taking stuff out of bags and boxes but, sure, why not?" He smirked, walking into the kitchen, with Luke behind him.

"Hey, guys!" Lane called, opening the door and walking in the apartment, with Zach, Matt and Chris following behind her. "We ran into them on the stairs."

"How's my niece?" Matthew grinned happily, sitting on the floor next to the coffee table.

"Calm so far." Rory rubbed her bump, smiling, watching as everyone sat down around the room, wherever they could find a space.

"So, what's the plan for today?" Lane asked as Jess walked in the room, a stack of paper plates in one hand and plastic cutlery in the other.

"Aren't we being fancy!" Lorelai grinned, picking up a plate with Spongebob drawn on it. "Mom would be so proud."

"We've packed away everything else." Rory explained, shrugging. "Need any help?" She looked at her husband but he shook his head.

"I'm good. Luke's getting the food, I'll go for your coffee."

"Thank you."

A few seconds later, Luke walked out, a large Styrofoam container filled with pancakes in one hand. Dropping it on the table, he turned around to look at Jess, who handed Rory a mug before throwing the paper cups he had stacked in his other hand to the people in the room.

"Eat, there's way more food. I'll go get everyone coffee."

"You ordered?" Lorelai looked at her daughter and she nodded.

"Of course. Chocolate and maple syrup are in the kitchen, I'll go bring them."

"You sit down, I'll go." Luke tried to glare at her making Rory shake her head. Remembering Lane's question, Rory looked at her friend, sipping from her coffee.

"Someone has to be at the new place by noon so…"

"So us three will go over while the boys move all the stuff!" Lorelai grinned, making the guys nod. Walking back inside the room, Jess waved the coffee pot in the air, smirking.

"Who wants coffee?"

"Assume everyone is the correct answer." Chris laughed when the choir of 'me's died down.

"What's the cleaning status of the house? Do you need help with that?" Matthew asked, sipping from his coffee.

"It's been cleaned." Rory shook her head. "We need to finish this place after we move everything though."

"I'll take care of that." Lane smiled, grabbing a plate and picking up a few pancakes. Sitting down on the couch's arm next to Rory, Jess wrapped an arm around her shoulders, dropping the now empty coffee pot in his hand on the end table.

"Do we have to paint any rooms in the new place?" Matt asked, grabbing the maple syrup from Luke, who sat down in a chair he'd brought from the kitchen.

"Nope." Rory shook her head, putting some pancakes on a plate and offering Jess the plate. Taking it from her, he smiled, kissing the top of her head when she moved back after she took some food for herself. "The only room that needs doing is the baby's room, but we haven't picked a color yet. It's pink right now, so we might leave it like that unless I change my mind again."

"Give us a call if you do, we'll help." Matt smiled, chewing on a piece of pancake.

"We?" Chris looked at him, making Matt glare back.

"Ok, just me then."

"No, I'll help, it's part of my uncle-y…?" He made a face, chuckling. "…Or whatever the correct version of that word is, duty. I was just wondering who died and made you in charge of volunteering me for stuff."

"No one had to die, I was anointed at birth with that particular responsibility." Matthew grinned before Chris shot from his place, punching him lightly in the arm.

"Chris, behave!" Lorelai chuckled from her place.

"No fair, you like him better!" Chris tried to pout, chuckling at the same time.

"I like you both the same, but that does not mean you're allowed to hit him." She scolded again, still laughing.

"Fine." Chris drew out the word in a childish tone.

"You sure he can be trusted near breakables?" Jess smirked, pointing at his friend.

"Oh, please, I'm just as trustworthy as you are." Chris protested, making Matt laugh.

"Whatever, pumpkin."

Glaring at him, Chris tried to say something but Lorelai chimed in.

"Matt, you have to behave too!"

"Ha!" Chris snorted.

"God help us all." Rory mumbled under her breath, smiling.

* * *

A while later, the three women were gathered in the kitchen of the new house.

"My baby's all grown up, she has her own house now!" Lorelai grinned, looking at Rory.

"Yes, 'cause the husband and baby were definitely not enough proof that I'm no longer 5."

"Don't say that, you're still 5!" She laughed again, shaking her head. "It's a really nice place you've got here, kid. The spare one is my room, right?"

"Yes, mother, you get your own room." Rory rolled her eyes, looking at the coffee machine. "Figures the first thing we'd bring with us would be this."

"I raised you properly." Lorelai grinned, nodding. "This is all the proof I needed."

"Yes, now we just need the guys to come and bring the actual coffee and mugs."

"You need to think these things through in the future."

"Maybe if you'd let me grab my list instead of pushing me out the door..." Rory tried to protest, laughing.

"Now, now, no need to blame mommy." Lorelai shook her head, laughing as well.

"Heavy box!" Matt called from the front door and Lane hurried, holding it open for him. "Kitchen?" The young man asked and Lane pointed to the room.

"We probably should have given you a tour first." Rory laughed, getting out of the man's way.

"You can get me drunk to make up for it."

Following him, Jess dropped a box as well. "Your husband's gone crazy." He shot at Lorelai, smirking.

"What's he done now?" The woman rolled her eyes, smiling as well.

"It took me ages to convince him to let me drive the truck, since he seems to have lost his mind and forgotten that I've driven it before and therefore I am clearly capable of driving a stick."

"Jess, did you make any bad jokes while getting the keys?"

"Maybe." The young man chuckled, dropping the box on a counter. "You might want to get out of the way, we have more boxes coming."

"Did you bring the coffee?" Rory pouted as she walked out.

"It's in a bag in the front seat, you can get it."

"Good husband!"

"Woof." He chuckled, placing a soft kiss on her lips as he headed outside again.

"Those two are adorable." Matt chuckled, standing next to Lorelai, looking at them.

"They definitely have the Jesse/Becky thing going on there."

"Matt, you going to help or stand there?" Jess grumbled as he walked past them with another box in his arms.

"I'm good with standing here, actually."

"Matt!"

"Going." Walking past Rory, he chuckled. "How do you stand him?"

"He got me pregnant, I have to." Rory laughed, sticking out her tongue when Jess walked up to them again.

"Matt, boxes."

"Slave driver!" Matthew yelled, fake pouting as he walked out the door.

"We'll never be done, will be?" Rory smiled, walking up to Lane.

"I think by Thursday, we might."

* * *

"_We have one box of books left!" Rory whined, walking in the bedroom. "How did we miss it? We have no more room for it in here, I can't…" Putting his hands on Rory's arms, Jess smirked, kissing her._

"_I left it for the shelf in the living room." _

"_Why am I stressing out then?"_

"_Because you're you." Hugging her, he placed a soft kiss on her temple. "Calm down."_

"_I will after we're done. And we need to buy lamps."_

"_Mental note made."_

"_I'll add them to my non-mental list." She grinned, pulling back and kissing him. "I like living with you, you calm me down."_

"_Yes, I have that special skill." He started trailing kisses down her neck, smirking as he tried to guide them towards the bed. _

"_You're trying to distract me!" She slapped his arm, smiling at the same time. _

"_You're only whining because it's working." _

"_But…box…books…" Rory tried to protest as he raised an eyebrow. "Ok, fine, but we're definitely going shopping for lamps tomorrow!"_

"_Fair deal."_

* * *

"Send Luke over!" Rory whined into the phone a few hours later, standing in the middle of their new office.

"_What's wrong?"_ Jess sighed from the other end of the phone, shushing everyone down.

"The furniture guys finally came and brought everything, but the shelves are in boxes and the bed is in pieces and nothing is put together and Jess!" She whined again, breathing out loudly.

"_Ok, he's coming over with the next batch of stuff. Is that good enough or do you want me to send him over right now?"_

"How far along are you?"

"_We just loaded the old couch; we're going to try to squeeze the last few boxes before we leave."_

"Is it going to take long?"

"_Ror, there's five of us loading one car. I'm going to say no."_ He smirked, running a hand through his hair.

"Just…hurry up, ok?"

"_Only if you promise you'll calm down. Don't make me call Lorelai and make her send you to your room or something." _

"You're mean!"

"_This is the last round, if that helps."_

"Seriously?"

"_T__he truck holds a lot." _He shrugged, looking around the almost empty room.

"Jess, don't joke."

"_I'm not. This is seriously the last round of stuff. Matt and Chris are loading the jeep as well, I'll drive it over so your mother doesn't have a panic attack or something."_

"You're perfect."

"_Hold on to that feeling. And calm down, I'm begging you!" _He chuckled.

"As soon as Luke's here, Steve Perry." She grinned. "Ok, I'm going to continue unpacking the dishes. Bye, I love you, I'm not crazy."

"_Yes, you are. Bye."_

Walking back in the kitchen, Rory looked at her mother and Lane who were staring at her, amused.

"What?"

"You're cute." Lorelai smiled, shrugging. "Plus, we're done."

"Seriously?"

"Kid, you don't have that many plates."

"Did you unload the ones we…"

"Got as a wedding present? Yes." Lorelai nodded, walking to her daughter, wrapping her arm around her shoulders. "Why are you stressing out over this?"

"I want to get everything done as soon as possible."

"You will. There's an army of people helping with this."

"But…"

"Rory."

"I know, calm down, breathe, relax." She smiled. "I'll make some more coffee."

"Good." Lorelai nodded, taking out a tin of coffee and handing it to her daughter.

"Red one." Rory answered, putting the tin next to the machine. "Decaf."

"But…" Lorelai drew out the word this time, pushing her bottom lip out, trying to pout.

"Mom, I'm only making a cup for myself. It will take 2 minutes, then I'm making a whole pot of normal coffee that you can proceed to drink."

"Good child!"

"So, how's the baby?" Lane asked, jumping up on a counter.

"Still middle nameless." Rory ginned, shrugging. "I saw this really pretty furniture set in a store window, I'm dragging Jess to see it up close this week."

"What color?"

"Cherry."

"Oh, cherry would go nice with the walls. You said she's getting the pink room, right?"

"It has one more window." Rory poured her coffee in a mug, before cleaning the machine quickly and starting the next round of coffee. "I really wish I'd stop craving bacon, though, it's getting ridiculous."

"Still?"

"Oh, yeah." Rory nodded, smiling. "It's bacon and mint ice cream now."

"Not even close to the craziest one of mine."

"Or mine." Lorelai shrugged, looking at Lane. "Oh, remember Sookie?"

"Which time?" Rory laughed, shaking her head. "I'm good with not craving any crazy things, so please stop this conversation and don't give her…" She pointed at her stomach. "…any ideas."

"Speaking of babies, I should probably give Liz a call and check on mine." Lane beamed happily, hopping down from the counter. "I should make sure her house is still standing and stuff. I'll be outside for a second."

"I'll come with you, I should check on Will. You ok by yourself for a couple of minutes?"

"Yeah, go. I'll have the coffee ready when you come back." Rory reassured her mother, nodding. Rubbing her stomach when she was alone, she sipped from her coffee. "That's my bladder, Mia Hamm. If you're going to kick, do it harder so your dad can feel it as well."

A few minutes later, Lorelai walked back in the room, taking the mug Rory handed her.

"Lane's scolding Steve, she'll be in as soon as she's done."

"What did he do?"

"Something to do with Doula and dolls, I have no idea. How are you?"

"Trying to convince the kid to stop kicking my organs."

"Still nothing from outside?"

"No." Rory pouted, looking down. "Jess is being far more patient than I am, though. I want him to feel her."

"He will, don't worry. And if you think she's kicking you hard now, give it a few more weeks."

"I like her kicking. Not sure my insides do, though." Rory smiled, resting her hand on her stomach again. "Clash seems to calm her down usually, though."

"Aw, sweet."

"It amuses Jess." She grinned again, sipping from her mug.

* * *

Walking into the office, Rory smiled, looking at her step-father.

"How's it going?"

"Not much left."

"Promise?" She bit her lip, making him smile. Appearing behind her, Jess wrapped his arm around her, kissing her temple.

"Bedroom's done, you can go make the bed if you want. I'll help Luke, it will be done faster this way."

"You're a very good husband."

"Matt and Chris left on a pizza delivery place hunt."

"Mom and Lane…?"

"Went to the old place to clean."

"But I was going to…"

"You're going to do nothing and be nowhere near chemicals, got it?" He kissed her temple again, smiling. "That's why they left without you."

"You're all overprotective."

"We have to be." Jess smirked, letting go and walking to Luke, looking at the shelves. "How can I help?"

"Grab a screwdriver."

Walking upstairs, Rory glanced at the pile of boxes filled with clothes, sighing before starting to shove a pillow inside its case.

* * *

"_Jess!" Laughing, she tried to fight him off but he pinned her down between his body and the mattress, smirking._

"_We're going shopping tomorrow, why do you have to get out of bed now?"_

"_Because we don't even have linens on the bed!" _

"_And?"_

"_And we're going to make a mess!"_

"_You're worried about that now?" He cocked an eyebrow, smirking. _

"_Well…" Blushing, Rory hid her face in his shoulder and he placed a kiss on the top of her head. "I am not going to spend the rest of the weekend in bed!" She announced, trying to sneak out from under him._

"_We make the bed, then get back in it. Final offer."_

"_Make the bed, I unpack the clothes while you do the last box of books. My final offer." She countered and Jess shook his head._

"_Bed and books. I'd say final offer but it's getting redundant. It's a compromise."_

"_And what are we wearing tomorrow, genius?"_

"_We'll stay naked until we unpack. How does that sound?"_

"_Like I've landed inside your brain." She stuck out her tongue, kissing him. "We make the bed, I'll do one bag of clothes, you do the books and then we get dinner."_

"_How is it that every single one of your offers means that I have to spend completely unreasonable amounts of time out of bed?"_

"_Jess!" _

"_Fine." He grumbled, kissing her one last time. _

* * *

Sitting down on the edge of the bed, Rory smiled, looking at her husband, who threw his shirt in the laundry basket.

"We own far too much stuff." He smirked, turning around to look at her. Crouching in front of her, he kissed the tip of her nose. "How are you doing?"

"Considering how I was barely allowed to do anything all day, very well." Rory ran her fingers through his hair. "Sad mom and Lane had to go."

"You'll see them in two weeks."

"I know." She smiled again, ruffling his hair. "You half-naked for a reason?"

"I was going to shower." Jess tilted his head towards the door of the bathroom. "I've been moving stuff all day."

"Can I at least help with that?"

"Oh, yeah." He chuckled, standing up, taking her with him.

* * *

Much later that night, Jess walked out of the bedroom, seeing the light on in the room across the hall. Opening the door, he saw Rory sitting on the floor, her back against a wall. Sitting down next to her, he wrapped his arm around her shoulders, smiling when she rested her head on his shoulder.

"What are you doing up?"

"Nothing. Thinking. I'm happy."

Placing a soft kiss on her head, he hugged her closer to him.

"Good. I like you happy."

"Our baby's going to live here."

"I know."

"She's going to grow up here, scrape her knees in the backyard, laugh, cry, just…everything."

"I know." Jess repeated, smiling. "I love you, Ror."

"I love you too." She lifted her head, pressing a kiss to his lips. "Thank you. For everything you did today."

"Come back to bed and we'll be even."

"Can I have some ice cream first?"

"I'm not sure we have any left." He smirked and she pulled back, pouting.

"Jess!"

"Come on, I may have remembered to pick some up today."

"You're perfect."

"Yeah, yeah." He stood up, helping her up before heading down the stairs.


	44. Old folks home

**A/N: Sorry I'm late posting chapters this week, life's just...interesting. Thank you for the reviews and the patience, I hope you like it.**

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**Old folks home**

Sunday morning, Jess rolled over in bed, opening one eye, finding Rory sitting up, reading. Yawning, he moved closer to her, resting his head on her legs. She put her book down, running her fingers through his hair.

"Good morning."

"Why are you awake?" Jess grumbled.

"Because it's almost 11."

"So?"

"You know me better than to ask that." She ruffled his hair, grinning. "Did you sleep well?"

Nodding, Jess placed a quick kiss on her leg before looking up. "You?"

"Yeah. Almost walked into the wall a couple of times before it registered that the bathroom door's in a different place."

"At least you didn't fall down the stairs." He sat up, giving up on sleep and kissed her quickly. "Breakfast?"

"Yes, please."

"Have you been waiting for me to wake up and make you food?"

"I had a couple of Pop-Tarts." Rory smiled before standing up, taking his hand. "I would have bought breakfast, but I don't know any places around here yet and driving back to Sonia's seemed overkill."

Standing up, he wrapped his arms around her, trailing kisses down her jaw. "Does this mean we're going to go have a look around the neighborhood after we're done with breakfast?"

"We have books to unpack." She pouted slightly, weighing the options in her head.

"We can do that this week, it will be something to look forward to."

"Deal." She kissed him before taking his hand, starting to drag him down the stairs. A few seconds later, she turned on the coffee machine, watching Jess open cupboards, looking for the pans. Walking up to him, she wrapped her arms around his waist, kissing his shoulder before pointing to a door.

"There."

"Why?"

"Hey, you can rearrange everything if you feel like it. This just made sense to me." Rory laughed before letting go and picking up a mug, waiting impatiently for her coffee to be done.

"I'll get used to it." He smirked before opening the fridge, looking through it. "Anything in particular you're in the mood for?"

"Must you ask?"

Walking up to her, he hugged her from behind, kissing his neck while his hands played on her stomach. "You're going to be very fat on your bacon diet."

"Tell your daughter that, this is her doing."

"Uh-huh." He mumbled, his mouth not moving away from her skin. "Does telling yourself that make you feel better?"

Turning around in his arms, Rory grinned, kissing him before lifting her hands to his chest, pushing him away from her. "Food!"

"You only use me for my cooking." He pretended to pout, dropping a pan on the stove and picking some stuff up from the fridge.

"No, you also have very awesome feet rubbing skills."

Abandoning his cooking again, he closed the distance between them, his hands moving to her sides, starting to tickle her as she tried to fight him off, laughing at the same time.

"No, please, Jess, no!" She tried to pull away from him but he just followed, smirking.

"So…nothing else?"

"Jess!" Rory called his name again, trying to catch her breath. "Uncle!" She called, making him stop. Crashing in his arms, she smiled, hugging him tightly. "Do not do that. Ever." She tried to sound mad, but ended up giggling again, before pressing a kiss on his cheek. "You're a jerk."

"You love me."

"Of course I do, I married you because of it." She lifted his hand, pulling back a bit and kissing his palm right next to the ring. "You woke Brett up."

"Morning, spawn." Jess mumbled, ducking down and kissing her bump, as her smile grew even bigger before straightening back up and heading for the stove. "Better feed you both then."

"Thank you." She nodded, pouring coffee in two mugs as he turned on the stove, waiting for the pan to heat up before dropping the bacon in. After dropping a mug filled with coffee next to Jess and kissing his shoulder again, Rory went back to standing out of the way, waiting for her coffee to cool down. Rubbing her stomach as she watched her husband, she realized something and bit her lip, trying not to cry as she walked to him, making him turn around to look at her.

"What are you…?"

"Shut up and give me your hand." She smiled excitedly, kissing his bottom lip as she waited for his hand.

"Ror, the food's gonna burn."

"Trust me." She grinned, impatiently grabbing his hand as he dropped the spatula and pushed the pan off the stove. Placing his hand on her stomach, she tapped her foot, looking down. "Come on, Brett."

Feeling something kick against his palm, Jess looked from their hands to his wife. "Was that…?"

"Yeah." Rory nodded, letting a couple of tears drop down her cheeks. "That's our daughter."

"This is…" Jess shook his head, not knowing what to say and just smiled, looking back down. "I love you." He whispered after a few seconds and she kissed him, careful not to move their hands away.

"I love you too." She laughed softly, watching him. "So…good enough reason to interrupt you from cooking?"

"Hey, you were the one starving." He smirked. When the kicking stopped, Jess looked back at his wife, a questioning expression on his face.

"She does that." Rory tried to explain, stepping back and taking a small sip out of her coffee. "She kicks for a bit, then stops and goes back to sleep. She'll be more awake tonight, hopefully you'll get to play with her again."

"Maybe she got pissed off at me for waking her up." Jess tried to joke, still smiling.

"Well, she's your kid, she's bound to have an opinion on being woken up at this hour on a Sunday."

"I thought she was the mailman's."

"Shoot, I forgot you knew about that."

Walking up to Rory, Jess crushed his mouth to hers while his hands cupped her face. When he pulled back, she rested her forehead against his, beaming with joy.

"Should I take that as a sign you're happy?"

Smiling back and placing a kiss on the tip of her nose, Jess nodded. "You have no idea."

"Good." She kissed him again.

"Thank you."

"What are you thanking me for?"

"For letting me be a part of this." He shrugged, looking into her eyes.

"Jess, I'm not letting…" She stressed the word. "…you, I need you to be a part of this. Plus, I'd never keep you out of our kid's life."

"I know." He nodded, smiling softly. "But that doesn't mean I don't feel incredibly lucky every single day I wake up next to you and now this…"

"Me too." Rory bit her lip, lifting her hand to caress his face. "Trust me, you're not the only one who got lucky here." Pausing for a second, she rubbed her bump. "You think Brett's going to have someone that loves her as much as I love you?"

"Ror, one at a time, I don't think I can take the thought of her being a grown up just yet."

"Not a grown up, just…in high school?" She laughed and he moved away, grabbing a chair and moving it closer to his wife, making her roll her eyes. "You're…"

"Overprotective, yes, I've heard that one before. And…I don't know." Jess shrugged, flipping a chair over and sitting down as well. "I hope so."

"What, no threats of killing boys?" Rory laughed, picking up her coffee cup again.

"I don't have to kill boys, didn't you hear I have Matt and Chris for that?" He smirked, turning around and grabbing his coffee as well, remembering the half-cooked bacon on the stove. "I should try and salvage that."

"Yes, please." Realizing she was still starving, she pushed her bottom lip out, giving him the puppy eyes.

"Oh, god, I'll be dead with two of you doing that." Jess chuckled, standing up and kissing the top of her head before turning on the stove again. "We'll be old by the time she's in high school anyway, it doesn't matter."

"Speak for yourself, I plan on being 27 for the next 20 years or so."

"Taking a leaf out of Lorelai's book?"

"I have no idea what you're talking about, mom's 39." Rory grinned, finishing her almost cold coffee.

"Fine, I'll be the only old one here."

"It's ok, I'll still think you're cute. A bit of gray around the temples…" Walking to him, she ruffled his hair before pouring herself more coffee. "You'd make it look good."

"When did we get so old again?" He smirked, turning around and glancing at her while pulling out a couple of eggs from the fridge.

"Somewhere in between the marriage and the mortgage. But you can go out clubbing or something if it will make you feel less old."

"Nah, I'm good."

* * *

A couple of nights later, Rory walked into their office, finding Jess sitting in the armchair, scribbling in a notebook.

"We need a smaller house." She smiled, leaning in the doorway, looking at him and he closed the notebook, motioning for her to come closer.

"We just moved in here, you really want to go through that again?"

"I'm just saying it would have taken me 30 seconds to find you in our old place." Walking up to him, she let out a small yelp when he pulled her down to sit in his lap. "Jess, I'm too heavy."

"I'll deal. What are you doing up?" Jess smiled back as he wrapped his arms tighter around her.

"Brett's kicking and it's keeping me awake. I haven't yet become the expert at sleeping through her soccer sessions that mom says I'll be."

"I'm sorry." He offered, smirking, before leaning closer to her stomach and kissing it. "Be nicer to your mom, kid."

"Maybe she just missed you." Rory grinned, taking his hand and placing it on her bump again. "Watching your expression when she does that still hasn't gotten old."

"Matt is buzzing about this. He's going to drive you crazy with it Saturday night."

"Let him, I don't mind. The girls at work play with her as well."

"Somehow, in my head, I'm always a part of this whole other women touching you thing. Or at least in the same room." He smirked and she slapped his shoulder, laughing.

"You're a pig."

"Sure, tell any guy that other women are rubbing…"

"Don't finish that thought, I beg you."

"Out loud or in my head? Because if it's the latter, I have some bad news." Jess chuckled, placing kisses wherever he could reach, making her laugh even harder. Feeling a slightly stronger kick against his hand, he kissed her bump again. "Ok, I get it, I'm annoying you."

"She's very opinionated, isn't she?"

"She's your child, of course she is. I think we need to start looking into military schools, it may be our only hope."

"Nope, mom and I decided that she couldn't possibly be mine." Rory grinned, giggling. "This whole kicking for the first time and then hard enough for you to feel while in the kitchen is clearly proof she has none of the Gilmore genes."

"I think I should give you a crash course in biology here. Also, have you and Lorelai considered it could be because that's where the food is, since you two can eat like there's no tomorrow?"

"You raise a valid point. Speaking of food…"

"Again?"

"Hey, feeding two here!"

"Go on then." Jess shook his head, waiting for her to stand up before following her into the kitchen. Leaning against a wall, he watched his wife as she made a sandwich before sitting down.

"What were you writing when I interrupted?" Rory looked up, taking a bite out of her food.

"Nothing. Just…random stuff."

"You're only evasive when it's something cheesy."

"It's nothing big yet."

"I get to read it when it's done?"

"You always do."

"True." She nodded, chewing on her food. "Is Matt still bringing Jane on Saturday?"

"Said he is."

"How is she? Is she nice? Is she pretty?"

"This again?" He smirked, lifting an eyebrow. "And you really want me to comment on another woman's attractiveness?"

"Ok, maybe not. But you've met her, come on, give me something!"

"She's nice."

"That's it?"

"You'll meet her soon, you can decide if you like her or not then. How many shops are we hitting on Saturday morning?" Jess changed the subject.

"Just a couple, I really have my heart set on the cherry wood one."

"So…why aren't we just buying that one?"

"Jess, that's not how you shop properly!"

"Ok, how many websites have you looked at in the past 4 months?"

"A few…" Rory hesitated, smiling as she took another bite from her sandwich.

"And have you seen anything you like more than that one?"

"No, but that doesn't mean…"

"Yes, it does." Jess nodded, smirking. "Now, I will go with you to as many shops you want. Granted, I'll probably be muttering about it, but that's how it goes. But wouldn't you rather just get that one and then spend the time we would have spent looking at various other sets just to end up buying the first one anyway, looking at toys and clothes and whatever else you want for her?"

"I really hate it when you're reasonable, you know that, right?"

"Yeah, you keep mentioning it."

"Don't you want to have a choice in the crib and furniture?"

"Is it safe?"

"Jess, you know I wouldn't buy something for our kid that wasn't safe."

"I'm good then." He smiled as she stood up, wrapping her arms around his waist before placing a quick kiss on his lips.

"You're very easy to please."

"I suggest we go upstairs and test that theory."

* * *

Sitting down in a rocking chair in the corner of a shop, Rory smiled softly, resting her hands on her bump while Jess looked at her.

"What do you think?"

"I like it."

"And it's really plain, so if we decide to go themed, we can just find a cute crib set."

"Didn't we rule out themes?"

"Well, yeah, but they have the sweetest bear one." She beamed happily, biting her lip.

"Show me." He smiled back before helping her stand up and taking her hand, letting her drag them to the bedding area.

"See?" She pointed to a bedding set, glancing back at him. "What do you think?"

"I think we can get it if you like it."

"I want to look around some more. I'll grab mom and we can go bedding shopping. You'll be spared spending time in baby shops and I still get to have my fun."

"I don't mind being here."

"You're bored out of your mind." She laughed, kissing the corner of his mouth.

"I'm n…that obvious, huh?" He finally admitted, letting out a breath. "I'm sorry."

"Jess, you don't have to do all this stuff with me. Not wanting to spend hours looking at tiny dresses doesn't make you less of a dad. It just makes you a normal guy."

"It's all the freaking same. Shelf after shelf of pastel crap."

"Ok, let's go buy the furniture and then we'll get out of here."

"But…" He tried to argue but she cut him off, kissing him quickly.

"I don't mind. I'll go to Hartford with mom next weekend. As long as the furniture's done, I'll feel like we've actually started getting ready for this."

"We can get the car seat you've been going on and on about, this way you won't start crying again about us not being able to bring Brett home from the hospital."

"You're perfect!" She wrapped her arms around his neck, grinning as she hugged him tightly.

"Nope, I've just been with you long enough to know what gets me hugs." Jess placed a kiss on her cheek, wrapping one arm around her as well. "You can show it to me once you've let go."

"Come on!" She released his neck before taking his hand again, dragging him to the other end of the store. "It's perfect."

"It looks like a tank."

"It's safe."

"You're paranoid."

"Car crashes at 50 miles an hour. Would you rather have our daughter in this or in a flimsy one?"

"Why is the car crashing?"

"You have a track record."

"Once, 10 years ago does not mean track record." Jess chuckled, shaking his head.

"Fine, small furry animal jumps in front of the car and we hit a pole. I assume you'd prefer our daughter to survive."

"Yes."

"So what's your problem with this then?"

"Just that it looks like a tank."

Rolling her eyes, Rory smacked his arm. "You're impossible."

"Get this, get the furniture then we can leave."

"We're going to be so very poor." She grinned before waving the shop assistant over.

* * *

Later that night, Rory lead Matthew up the stairs to the baby's room, smiling as she opened the door.

"It's still in boxes, but there's furniture finally!"

"Awesome!" The man smiled, equally enthusiastic. "I like the car seat."

"Jess won't let me put it in the car yet."

"I hate to agree with him, but I think I do on this."

"And changing the subject completely, I like Jane!" She giggled happily, slapping his arm at the same time. "Why did you not bring her over before?"

"Really? You think I want her to spend more time with Chris and your husband than necessary? They're probably downstairs filling her head with wild stories about me!"

"You did the same with Jess. You told me everything. And whatever stories you didn't share with me, you told mom. Which is even worse." She stuck out her tongue before heading back down the stairs.

"That's completely different."

"How?"

"Erm…it just is." He chuckled before jumping off the bottom step and walking back in the living room, sitting next to his girlfriend. "What did they tell you?"

"Nothing, we swear." Chris lifted his hands in the air, laughing at the same time.

"Shit." Matthew grumbled, looking at Jane. "I didn't do it, they're lying."

"You really dyed your hair pink?"

"I have the photos to prove it." Jess smirked as Rory sat next to him, wrapping his arm around her at the same time.

"It was a phase!" Matt tried to protest, shaking his head at the same time. "I hate them."

"Only because you're an idiot that does stupid things with us around." Chris laughed.

"You are so not safe if you ever, and I do mean ever, start dating anyone." Matt grumbled, glancing at Jane. "Please don't ask to see the pictures."

"I won't…yet."

"I'm dead."

* * *

As soon as everyone was left, Rory walked in the kitchen, wrapping her arms around Jess' waist.

"How's it going?"

"Almost done. What do you say on us getting a dishwasher?"

"Whatever you want, the kitchen's your turf. I still cannot believe we own a house and we get to make those decisions without having to get anyone's permission. Or that we've lived in it for a week already."

"It's not that long."

"The week thing isn't. But the owning a house still blows my mind."

"More or less than us being old enough to have a kid without people giving us mean looks?"

"Speak for yourself, unless I'm wearing work clothes people still seem to think I'm too young for this. How mom didn't kill anyone while she was pregnant with me, I'll never know."

"Well, looking young will help you pretend you're 27 ten years from now."

"Twenty." She grinned, kissing the back of his neck. "Can you just leave the rest of the dishes for tomorrow and come to bed?"

"You're trying to get me in bed at half ten on a Saturday night? We are old."

"We can stay up and watch a movie."

"I'll dry my hands and make some coffee while you pick something."

"I love you, husband." Rory smiled, placing another kiss on his shoulder before walking out of the room. A while later, they were curled up on the couch, his arms wrapped tightly around her as the end credits rolled on the screen.

"So…good first week in this house?" Jess whispered in her ear, rubbing her stomach.

"Great first week." Looking down, she grinned. "You agree, baby?" Giggling when she felt another kick, she twisted her neck to look at Jess. "I'd say she agrees."

"She's been doing that all night, I don't think it means she has an opinion."

"Hush and let me pretend she does."

"Fine." He placed a small kiss on her head. "I love it when she does that." He admitted as he felt another kick in his palm.

"You've actually admitted that out loud? You have grown up."

"Don't sound so surprised, you had a lot to do with it."

"You're going to be great with her, you know that, right?"

"I hope so." He smiled, kissing her head again. "You already are. Go on, let's get you to bed before you fall asleep on the couch, because I don't think I can carry you around anymore."

"I'm not that fat." She tried to protest, standing up at the same time. "You're very lucky I haven't killed you yet, considering how many times you've called me fat."

"I can outrun you." He wrapped his arms around her shoulders as they headed up the stairs.


	45. Idiots, clearly

**A/N: Yes, I'm still alive and no, I haven't forgotten about my stories. Just lacking inspiration lately. Will try to remedy that. In the meantime, I hope you like this chapter and thank you for the reviews. **

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* * *

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**Idiots, clearly**

Monday evening, Rory and Jess were curled up on the couch together, watching a movie, waiting for their food to be delivered. Glancing at Jess, she ran her fingers through his hair before leaning over and kissing his cheek.

"We're idiots."

"Why?" Jess paused the movie, looking at her. "What did we do?"

"We forgot our anniversary."

"What, you wanted to celebrate our two month wedding anniversary when we didn't bother with the one month one?"

"No. But speaking of that, have we really been married for two months already?"

"Yeah." Jess confirmed, kissing her. "So if it's not that…five years." He realized.

"That one." She nodded, smiling. "Mom called today to tell me she was back but it didn't click until now that they went away because it was their wedding anniversary. Or that, you know, we might have had something to celebrate as well."

"In our defense, we have been very busy these past few weeks." Jess smirked as he cupped her face in his hand, leaning in and kissing her. "Bored of me yet?"

"Terribly so. I'll have to find a lover just to keep from killing myself or something." She giggled before placing quick kisses on his mouth. "I love you, Jess. More than I ever…" Lifting one finger, he pressed it against her lips, smiling.

"I know. I love you too."

"Does this mean we don't get to celebrate it this year?" She asked after a few seconds, detaching her mouth from his.

"What do you want to do?"

"Dinner?"

"Tomorrow?"

"I have to work late again." Rory pouted and he kissed her protruding bottom lip.

"Wednesday night then?"

"Probably going to be busy all week." She continued her thought, looking even sadder. "Sarah's away until Thursday and since the idiot from local news quit…"

"I have an idea." Jess stood up, extending his hand and making her stand as well. "Go upstairs and get changed."

"Jess, what are we doing?"

"Going out." He shrugged, putting his hand on the small of her back and starting to guide her towards the door.

"But…delivery…and…" She tried to protest, smiling at the thought of a night out at the same time.

"I'll drop the food in the fridge when it gets here. Now hurry up or everything will be closed."

"You're perfect, do I tell you that often enough?"

"Probably not." Jess chuckled before kissing her. Taking her hand, he started going up the stairs but Rory stopped, looking at him.

"Where are you going?"

"I need to change."

"But…"

"I know, element of surprise and all that. I've learned some things in all these years. Don't worry, I'm just grabbing clothes and then you can do whatever you want."

"Good husband!" Rory laughed before hurrying up the stairs, making Jess follow her this time. As soon as he'd picked up some clothes from the closet, she opened the door for him, grinning. "Now get out!"

"Tyrant." Jess smirked, kissing her on his way out.

A while later, Jess heard footsteps coming down the stairs and turned off the TV, standing up and walking to the door, leaning in the doorway as he watched Rory come down the stairs, a smile on her face. Wrapping his arm around her waist when she reached him, he placed a small kiss on her cheek.

"You're beautiful." Watching as her smile grew bigger, he tightened his grip on her, smiling back. "As usual."

"You have to say that, you're my husband."

"Kid, tell your mother it's ok to just say 'thank you' to a compliment." He looked down at her stomach, smirking.

"Thank you." Rory laughed, kissing him. "It's a good thing mom gave me this dress, since none of my old ones fit."

"Yes, that's because all of your old ones are very, very tight. A…situation I enjoy tremendously, trust me. Even if I get glared at by every other guy in the room."

"I'm pretty sure that's not going to happen tonight."

"Want to bet?" Jess kissed the corner of her mouth before pulling back a bit, looking at her body. Blushing, Rory slapped his arm.

"Now you're just…"

"Now I'm just leering. Which I believe these rings…" He lifted her hand, placing a small kiss on her finger. "…Fully entitle me to do."

"Let's go." She grinned, blushing even harder before starting to walk towards the door.

* * *

A while later, they walked back in their house, a dejected look on Rory's face.

"I can't believe this." She pouted, turning around to look at him. "Everything's closed, completely booked or too dirty."

"I'm sorry." Jess shrugged, cupping her face in his hands and kissing her quickly. "This worked better in my head."

"It's not your fault."

"It was my idea."

"I was the one that had a problem with that last place."

Smirking as he thought of something, Jess kissed her one more time before pointing to the living room. "Go sit down, I have a plan."

"Jess, I'm starving."

"You'll have food in a few minutes, ok? It's not a complicated plan."

Giggling, Rory nodded before walking to the couch, watching him as he closed the door to the room before hearing him go up the stairs. A very short time later, he walked in the living room, trying to stay as serious as possible as he held his hand out to her.

"If you'll accompany me, madam…"

"Oh, exciting." She grinned before standing up and taking his hand, following him up the stairs. Opening the door to the spare bedroom for her, Jess watched as she walked in, laughing softly as she spotted the table in the middle of the room, a lamp in the centre of the table and another one on the floor. Crossing his arms across his chest as she turned around to look at him, Jess smiled.

"We really need to buy candles, this isn't nearly as romantic as in the movies."

"I think it's romantic enough." She walked to him, kissing the corner of his mouth. "Good thing we ordered Chinese, there's no way we could have passed off pizza as fancy date food."

"We'll go out next week or something, but for tonight…"

"This is perfect." She shrugged, tilting her head towards the table. "Do we get to eat now?"

Nodding, Jess lead her to the table, holding the chair out for her before sitting down as well. Realizing he's forgotten to bring drinks, he stood up again, shaking his head. "This really looks so much easier on TV."

"Can I help?"

"No." Darting back down the stairs, he reappeared after a few seconds, holding up the half full bottle of soda. "Classy, right?"

"Oh, yeah." Rory laughed as he poured the liquid in their glasses, smirking.

"I think we're ok now."

"Thank you."

"You don't have to…"

"Kid, tell your dad it's ok to say 'you're welcome' instead of questioning my gratitude." She mocked his earlier statement, looking at her stomach.

"Point taken." Jess nodded, taking her hand and placing a kiss on her fingers. "You're welcome. Now eat before I have to microwave it again."

"You are so not going to get a tip with that attitude!" Rory laughed before picking up her fork and digging in the food on her plate.

After they were done with dinner, Jess stood up, crouching down in front of her, smiling. "Happy belated anniversary."

"Right back at you." She grinned, biting her lip. "You already know everything I want to tell you, don't you?"

"Yeah. I'm insufferable and you curse the gods daily for being stuck with me."

"Sounds about right." She ran her fingers through his hair, nodding. "But my life would be wrong and empty and all sorts of bad without you. And I love you so much…"

"You have no idea, Ror." He stood up a bit, just enough to reach her lips and kiss her. "Thank you. For all the things you don't even know you've done for me."

Standing up, Rory watched him as he straightened up as well before wrapping her arms tightly around his neck, pressing her mouth to his. "I love you." She whispered again against his mouth, smiling. "So, what do you say we clean this mess tomorrow and just go to bed instead?"

"You are aware this is the kitchen table, right? You think I'll have any desire to move furniture tomorrow morning?"

"We'll eat breakfast in the living room."

"Works for me." He smirked before turning off the two lamps and guiding her to their bedroom.

* * *

The next evening, Rory walked inside the house, dropping her coat before peaking into the living room, finding it empty. After a quick tour of the downstairs and pouring herself a cup of coffee, she started walking towards their bedroom only to stop when she heard a noise coming from the baby's room. Opening the door, she leaned in the doorway, seeing Jess sitting on the floor, looking at a sheet of paper, surrounded by pieces of wood and a half assembled crib.

"Should I even ask…?" She grinned, sipping from her mug and he lifted his head.

"You're already asking. I'm putting this stuff together."

"I guessed as much. Any particular reason?"

"Looked at a calendar, saw it's the fifth, figured I'd do it before you decide to kill me." He shrugged, grabbing two screws between his teeth before standing up and starting to connect another piece of wood to the crib. "Is there some sort of rule that says furniture must be completely taken apart before being put in boxes?"

"Yes." She laughed, looking around her. "You already did the changing table."

"That one was easy, it was almost put together."

"Look at you, Norm Adam."

"Someone's got to be." Jess smirked, glancing at her. "You now even have access to the closet so you can organize as much as you want."

"What are my chances on the car seat?"

"I haven't gone that crazy yet."

"Next month?"

"Two months from now, maybe. We'll talk about this again."

"God, it seems like a lifetime away." She smiled, rubbing her stomach.

"I'll remind you of that next time you work yourself into a frenzy over how she's almost here and we're not ready."

"We have furniture, some clothes, a car seat…we could swing it."

"Ok, who are you and where's my wife?" He chuckled before picking up another piece of the crib and pushing it in, banging his hand against it to secure it in place before picking up more screws.

"I just…want to stop stressing about this and enjoy it while I still can."

Smirking, Jess walked to her, putting the back of his hand against her forehead. "Huh, no fever."

"Funny." She stuck out her tongue, making a face before kissing him. "Go back to putting Brett's crib together."

"Don't you need a whip to make your commands sound more serious?"

"I don't know…do I?" Rory pretended to look angry, but ended up bursting out laughing.

"Oh, no, you clearly don't. Force to be reckoned with."

"You bet." She grinned, giving him a quick peck on the lips. Walking to the changing table, she ran her hand over it, biting her lip and Jess walked to her, wrapping his arm around her waist from behind.

"Don't start crying."

"I'm not going to. I think." Rory smiled, moving his hand down her stomach to where the baby was kicking.

"Nope. You start crying, I stop putting furniture together and don't start again until June."

"I really hate you sometimes, you know that, right?"

"You've mentioned it." He chuckled before kissing her shoulder. Flipping her around, making her laugh, Jess placed a kiss on her lips before leaning down and kissing her bump as well. "I'm now going to go finish your crib, kid, before your mom forgets just how impressed she is with my sense of initiative and gets pissed off at me for not being done yet."

"Good call." Rory laughed, watching him as he started on the crib again. Walking to the closet, she opened the door, looking at the bags of clothes on the floor. "Will you think I'm crazy if I…"

"Start unpacking? I figured you would." He smirked, starting to work on the crib again.

"We need a toy box or something." She remarked, opening one of the bags and noticing the toys. "I'll look for one this weekend."

"Ok." Lifting his head after a few minutes of silence he saw her organizing the tiny clothes in the closet and chuckled. "I did however think it was going to take you a few more days."

"You're cute. Innocent. You realize I'm going to wash and rearrange everything in a couple of months, right?"

"So…you're doing it now because…?" He trailed off, amused.

"Because it's fun!"

"I give up." He chuckled, screwing in the last couple of screws before standing up and walking to her again. "Done. Where do you want it?"

"That corner, please." She pointed to the side of the room, resting her hands on her stomach and watching him as he moved it around. "Can you also move…"

"Where?" Jess smirked as he headed for the changing table and she pointed to another spot. As soon as he was done, Rory took a deep breath before walking to him and kissing him softly.

"Thank you."

"You're welcome." He smiled back, cupping her face in his hand. "Dinner?"

"You're on a roll tonight, aren't you?"

"It's always fun to see how surprised you are when I do something nice."

Laughing, she shook her head. "You're usually nice, but tonight you're…"

"Yeah, yeah." He smirked, wrapping his arm around her waist as they headed down the stairs.

* * *

The next evening, Rory crashed down on the couch, resting her head on Jess' lap and propping her feet up on a pillow.

"Grandma is impossible."

"You just figured that out?"

"I couldn't get us out of Friday dinner. I'm sorry."

"Aw, did I forget to tell you I have to work late this Friday?" He smirked, running his fingers through her hair.

"Not funny."

"Oh, go on, it's the same every time. We try to get out of dinner, she says no, we have to beg off work early, she still mumbles about us being late."

"She's already pulling the great-grandchild card. We'll never be out of dinner once Brett's born."

"You thought we would?"

"I'm an idiot." Rory laughed, grabbing his hand and placing a small kiss on his palm. "I'm sorry my family's crazy."

"Sure, 'cause my bunch is normal."

"Liz wants to see us this weekend, by the way."

"How do you know my mother wants to see us? There's something so wrong about that…"

"Mom was in the diner and passed the phone to her today. We talked for a couple of minutes." She grinned as his fingers kept running through her hair. "And did you actually admit you're actually related to her?"

"Don't tell anyone, it's a secret." Jess smirked.

"I need to work something out to see dad as well, I haven't seen him since our wedding."

"Are we driving over or is he coming here?"

"I want him to come over and see our place, but we don't have any furniture in the guest room yet."

"Air mattress?" He chuckled.

"How about I ask him over when we have furniture?"

"Because we're definitely going to have money for that any time soon."

"So, think we can manage a trip to Boston on Sunday?" She grinned, shaking her head. "I'd rather spend money on the kid than on furniture for a room that we're barely ever going to use."

"How long do you think until either him or your grandparents offer to buy it for us?"

"You know grandma's already offered, right?"

"Christ." He threw his head back against the couch, sighing.

"Don't worry, I'm very good at saying no." Lifting her hand, she pressed a finger to his lips, laughing. "And don't say a thing."

Laughing, he kissed her finger, before moving her hand away. "Sure you are."

"What did I just say?"

"Make me shut up."

Shaking her head slowly, Rory sat up on the couch before kissing him as her fingers started playing in his hair. "There." She whispered when she pulled back.

"That the best you've got?"

"Not even close." She grinned before going in for another kiss.


	46. Bears or ducks?

**A/N: Thank you for the reviews, you're all awesome.**

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**Bears or ducks?**

Friday evening, Rory and Jess walked into the living room of the Gilmore mansion, finding almost everyone gathered there, talking and drinking.

"Sorry we're late grandma, work got in the way." Walking up to her grandmother, she hugged her quickly before waving at her mother and step-father and sitting down next to Lorelai, while Jess took the last free chair.

"Don't worry, it's good to finally see you." Emily smiled, standing up. "Drinks?"

"Soda for me."

"Jess, scotch?"

"Sure." He replied, grimacing after making sure Emily couldn't see him, making both Lorelai and Rory snicker.

"Where's grandpa?"

"In his study, on the phone. He should be done soon. What have you been up to since we last saw you?"

"Unpacking, mostly. Jess put the nursery together this week…" She paused for a second, accepting the drink her grandmother was offering her and nodding as quick thanks before continuing. "…So now I just need to finish organizing the baby's closet. Toy box!" She turned around, pointing her finger at Lorelai.

"…Ok?" She replied, confused, blinking a couple of times. "Is that my new pet name or…"

"No, remind me to buy one when we're out shopping tomorrow!"

"What, you're telling me you don't have some sort of list? Jess, what's wrong with my kid?" Lorelai chuckled, looking at the man.

"I had a list. Which I forgot at home. I swear, being pregnant has turned me into a moron."

"Aw, it's ok. It gets better."

"Are you lying?"

"Only a little." Lorelai smiled, rubbing her arm.

"You're going shopping tomorrow?" Emily asked, looking at the two women.

"Yeah."

"That sounds fun." Emily smiled before sighing, looking down at her glass.

"Mom, what's wrong?"

"Nothing." She sighed again, making both Rory and Lorelai roll their eyes. "I hope you girls enjoy yourselves."

"Grandma, would you like to come with us?" Rory offered, smiling sweetly.

"Why, thank you, Rory, that would be lovely. Should I meet you at the diner at 10?"

"Erm, we were going to drive to Hartford anyway. We can just come pick you up." Rory offered, still uncomfortable.

"Wonderful. We'll stop for lunch." Standing up, she smiled again. "I'm going to go check on dinner."

"Got roped into that one." Lorelai made a face and Rory nodded.

"Big time."

"You should have fought harder. None of this 'oh, grandma, please come with us!'." Lorelai mocked her daughter, making everyone laugh. "Just ignore the sighing, how many times do I have to tell you?"

"Mom, you know that had I not said that, she would have just kept it up until both of us would have caved. She's done it before. She's the master."

"What are the chances you'll be either sick or tired or something tomorrow and we don't have to go?"

"You think there's any way to be out of it that doesn't involve someone bleeding from their head?"

"Gah, I dislike it immensely when you have a point." Shaking her head, she shrugged. "At least she'll be distracted by tiny baby clothing!"

"As will we." Rory pointed out, grinning. "Remind me to show pictures of the nursery when we get back. I think it needs bears."

"You will no longer think that after I've dragged you to the store I was telling you about and showed you the ducks!"

"This never ends, does it?" Jess smirked, looking at Luke and the man shook his head, chuckling as well.

"Not if Caesar tripping on one of Will's trucks while carrying two plates today is any proof."

"How is everyone tonight?" Richard smiled, walking into the room, making Lorelai and Rory stop talking.

"Hey, grandpa!" Rory waved, smiling. "Work finally giving you a break?"

"Yes. I apologize for not being here, there was a bit of a problem in our Seattle office."

"When are you going to follow through on that retiring thing? Before or after mom kills you?" Lorelai snickered, sipping from her drink.

"Richard, we're letting the maid go." Emily announced, walking back in the room. "And do you really think I would kill someone, Lorelai?"

"Your hearing still works fine, mom, doesn't it?"

"Yes, it does, Lorelai." Sitting down next to her husband, she picked up her glass again. "I hope you told your office…"

"No more calls tonight, I promise, dear." Richard smiled at his wife.

"What did this maid do, mom?"

"What's the time, Lorelai?"

"Uh…" Picking up Luke's wrist, she glanced at his watch. "Four minutes past seven."

"And what time do we usually eat?"

"Seven." Blinking a couple of times, she shook her head. "You're seriously firing someone over a four minute delay?"

"No, I am firing her because she is still not done with the salads, which means dinner will be delayed even more. The ladies from the D.A.R. are coming over next week, I cannot afford to have someone on my staff who doesn't understand the importance of serving food at the appropriate time. I expect things to be…"

"Done properly. You pay good money for that." Lorelai mimicked her mother's voice, reciting the same speech she'd heard many times before. "You're going to run out of maids soon. Seriously, I think I heard them mention on the radio that said they're all running away from Connecticut, leaving behind mountains of aprons and feather dusters."

"There's no need to be dramatic, Lorelai."

"May not be, but it sure keeps me young."

"How is everyone at the D.A.R., grandma?" Rory chimed in, trying to change the subject.

"They're good, thank you for asking. They keep asking about you."

"Send them my regards."

"Actually, there's been some talk of them wanting to arrange a baby shower for you. Most of them remember you so fondly from your time there, they were just so disappointed to not having been invited to your wedding."

"Grandma, you know…"

"Yes, yes, you've explained it to me before." Emily smiled, cutting her off mid-sentence. "How does the fourth of May work for you?"

"What?" Rory asked, dumbfounded.

"For the shower?"

"Grandma, I'm not sure I want…"

"Nonsense, you have to have a baby shower."

"But…" She shot her mother a desperate look, but before Lorelai could chime in, Emily continued.

"It can be moved to the weekend after, but not the last two as we have other functions scheduled."

"The fourth is fine, grandma." Rory sighed, rolling her eyes.

"Wonderful. I'll let the girls know."

"Dinner is served, ma'am." The maid announced, walking in the room then rushing right out.

"Finally." Emily grumbled, heading towards the living room as everyone else stood up as well, getting ready to follow.

"And you thought shopping tomorrow was bad." Jess whispered in Rory's ear, squeezing her hand when he was close to her.

"It's ok, ten more minutes in there and your kid would have been put that down on the list for every cotillion from the time she turns 14 until she dies." Lorelai snickered.

"But at least I wouldn't have had to suffer through that." Rory replied, grinning before they all walked inside the dining room.

* * *

The next morning, Rory walked out of the bathroom, sitting on the edge of the bed next to Jess, toweling her hair.

"I don't want to go."

"Then don't." He smirked, moving down and kissing her knee. "What's she going to do?"

"You want me to cancel on grandma? Really?"

"No, you want to cancel on her. I'm just saying you can."

"I can't. She'll be upset." Pouting, she lowered one hand, running it through his hair. "When it's just me and mom, we get to be silly and laugh and talk but now…we won't. Mom will be in a mood, grandma will grumble if I ever try to pick up a band onesie and the entire trip will probably end in shouting."

"Well, you're ever the optimist, aren't you?" Jess chuckled, placing quick kisses on her leg. "Just stay away from anything she might find objectionable and it'll be fine. God knows we already have too many band things."

"No such thing."

"For a yet unborn child?"

"You have a point?"

"No." He laughed again, shaking his head. Sitting up on the bed, he kissed her, his hand cupping her face. "Stop procrastinating or you'll be late and your mother will barge in here and I think it might scar both her and me for life."

Smiling, she pulled his bottom lip between her teeth, lowering one of her hands and running it down his bare chest. "You plan on staying in bed half naked all day?"

"Until Luke breaks down and makes me either help him or babysit Will, at least. If it were up to me, I'd be in bed until you dragged me to Liz."

"I'm not dragging you, she wants to see you."

"You can't always get what you want though, now can you?"

"Jess…" She sighed, pulling back a bit.

"I know. We're going. I'm just going to be less than stoic about it. Just like you are about your shopping trip, I might add."

"Oh, shut up." Rory laughed before standing up and moving to the couch, turning on her hair dryer.

* * *

"Look at the tiny ducks!" Lorelai exclaimed, dragging her daughter to a corner of the shop and pointing to the bedding set. "They're so cute and sweet and duck-like!"

"Duck-like? That's your argument?" Rory snickered, rolling her eyes. "What do you think, grandma?"

"It's…"

"Not exactly your taste?" Rory offered, smiling. "It's silly, I know."

"Lorelai had the most precious pink lace bedding set when she was born."

"I don't think lace would go that well with our 'a step above IKEA' furniture." Seeing her grandmother's expression change, she bit her lip. "But I'd love to see pictures."

"You shouldn't have bought a crib. That's what showers are for. What am I supposed to get you now?"

"Grandma, Jess and I are grownups. We work hard so we can buy the stuff we like."

"But it's not done."

"Let her win, I beg you." Lorelai whispered, rolling her eyes.

"Fine, grandma. You can buy us another crib."

"Well, what's the point in having two?"

Turning around, Rory made a face, clenching her fists.

"Mom, they got what they liked. Now, they don't have a stroller yet, do they…" She looked at Rory, raising her voice slightly and the younger woman shook her head. "So you can get them one you like. Or a swing. Pack'n'play. There are countless things babies need that they haven't bought yet, so why don't we think about those for a while and continue looking at the world's most adorable duck bedding!"

"If she buys us a thousand dollar stroller…" Rory whispered to her mother after Emily huffed, heading to look at clothing.

"You will say nothing. So, ducks?" She pointed at the set again, making Rory shrug.

"I have no idea. I'm too scared to buy anything now and risk starting a cold war with grandma."

"Hon, get whatever you want, give or stash away anything she or her friends give you and call it a day."

"She'll insist on seeing it, you know that."

"Then pull it out for the photo shoots and her visits. What do you think I do with half the stuff she bought for Will? Although I'll see if I can convince her to get you one of the diaper bags she got me, they're awesome."

"Fine. And I still say the bears were cuter." Rory grinned. Walking up to them, Emily held up a dress.

"What about this?"

"Aw, it's cute."

"I'll get it for you then." The woman announced, smiling before heading back.

"You've made grandma smile. Good girl!" Lorelai grinned as well before looking at the bedding again. "You're crazy, definitely the ducks."

"Bears." Rory shot back, laughing before heading out to look at a toy box, with her mother following closely behind. Opening the lid to one, she looked inside, rubbing her bump. "You like this one, kid?"

"She kicking?" Lorelai asked excitedly, but Rory shook her head again.

"No."

"Aw, man, unfair! Everyone's gotten to feel her kicking but me."

"Not everyone, mom."

"But…I'm the grandmother here, I should get some sort of dibs ahead of at least people you work with, if not honorary uncles as well."

"What would you have liked me to do? Drive to Stars Hollow?"

"Yeah!" Lorelai nodded enthusiastically.

"She'd have stopped kicking before I got there."

"Then you should move back in with me."

"Oh, you're delirious again. Lunch?"

"At least coffee."

"Let's find grandma." Rory smiled, looking around the store. A few minutes later, the three women were in a coffee shop. Walking to the table with a plate of cake in her hand, Lorelai grinned.

"Someone's bringing the coffee."

"Cake?" Emily grumbled, looking at her daughter. "We're going for lunch in an hour, Lorelai."

"It's for Rory, mom. She's pregnant!" The woman smiled innocently, sliding the plate in front of her daughter, while still holding a fork in her hand. "I'm just tasting to…uh…see if it's not poisoned! Or has nuts. Dreadful thing these allergies."

"Rory's not allergic."

"You can never be too safe." Nodding, Lorelai took a bite out of the cake before nodding. "It's safe, honey." She mumbled while chewing.

"Lovely." Emily mumbled again, drinking from her coffee. "How are you feeling, Rory?"

"Great. The baby's taken to keeping me awake by kicking the hardest at ridiculous hours but other than that, all's good." She smiled, picking up her cup of decaf, while her mother kept eating the cake. "You and grandpa should drive over one weekend, her room's looking great."

"Have you picked a middle name?"

"Nope." Rory shook her head, rubbing her stomach again. "Yes, we're talking about you, no need to get fussy."

"Yeah, there is!" Lorelai mumbled between bites.

"Here, give me your hand." Rory smiled, taking Lorelai's hand and putting it on her bump. "Feel that?"

"Aw, heya, baby!" Lorelai gushed, looking from her hand to her daughter's face. "She's seriously going at it, isn't she?"

"Oh, yeah." Rory nodded, biting her lip. "Want to feel her, grandma?"

"I…"

"You don't have to." She reassured the woman, still smiling.

"I don't want to bother you."

"You're not."

"Go on, mom, join the fun." Lorelai grinned, moving her hand away. Pulling her chair a bit to the side so she could be closer to Emily, Rory looked at her grandmother.

"So?"

Extending her hand, Emily waited for Rory to place it on her bump, smiling when she felt the kicks.

"Pretty cool, isn't it?"

"Rory, you graduated from Yale, I'd expect better adjectives from you." Emily chided her, before moving her hand away, the smile not leaving her lips. "And, yes, it is."

"I believe this mean she wants the ducks, since I was thinking about them when she started it!" Lorelai snickered, taking another bite from the piece of cake.

"And she has mind-reading skills, since she knows what you were thinking about?" Rory rolled her eyes. "Bears."

"I don't care. You get the bears, I'll get the ducks, everyone's happy. You need more than one bedding set anyway."

"Get it for Will."

"He's a boy, I can't get away with pink and yellow bedding for him. Luke's already watching baseball with him, he'll kill me if I do."

"I tell you what, if it will make you happy, you can get it, ok?" Turning her attention back to her grandmother, she laughed, drinking from her cup. "What do you think? Settle the debate. Bears or ducks?"

"The eternal question, yet again." Lorelai chimed in.

"I think both sound lovely." Emily smiled, looking at her granddaughter.

"Jess is going to make so much fun of me if I don't stop buying stuff for the baby." Rory rolled her eyes, finishing her coffee.

* * *

A while later, Rory and Lorelai collapsed at a table in the diner, dropping their heads on the table. Walking to them, Jess dropped two coffee mugs on one end before sitting down, smoothing Rory's hair down.

"You look like you had the time of your lives."

"Funny." Lorelai lifted her head, glaring at him. "Die."

"I can take away the coffee."

"Rory, mean!" She pointed her finger at Jess and Rory lifted her head as well, glaring at her husband.

"You have 5 seconds to get me ice cream."

"And if I don't?"

Pushing her bottom lip out, Rory blinked a few times, pretending to start crying.

"Big guns. Going." Jess stood up, placing a kiss on her head as he walked to the kitchen. Walking downstairs with Will in his arms, Luke sat down in one of the free chairs, kissing his wife quickly.

"How'd it…"

"Blargh." Lorelai shook her head as Jess dropped two bowls with ice cream on the table. "Good son-in-law, we may keep you after all."

Starting to dig into her ice cream, Rory smiled when Jess started rubbing her leg under the table. "If we were missing anything for the baby before, we aren't now. And definitely won't be after that damned shower."

Picking up her son when he started reaching for the ice cream, Lorelai kissed his cheek, grinning. "How'd it go with uncle Jess? Did he read any books he isn't allowed to?"

"Trust me, we had a morning filled with building blocks and ten readings of '_That's not my bunny'_." Jess replied, sighing.

"I did warn you about that one." Lorelai grinned, making a face at Will. "You made him tell you about the bunny, didn't you? Yes, you did…"

Smiling as she watched her mother talk to her brother, Rory squeezed Jess' hand under the table. "Brett finally kicked hard enough for both mom and grandma to feel. Sorry you missed it, Luke." She chuckled, looking at the man.

"I'll live. I should probably head to the kitchen. Will's been fed and changed."

"I'll put him down for his nap." Lorelai nodded, leaning over and kissing her husband quickly.

"And she makes a face when we do that." Jess smirked, leaning closer to Rory. "Ready to go?"

"Let me finish this coffee first. Why, you anxious?"

"To get it over with, definitely."

"Aw, it's ok." She laughed, running her hand through his hair. "Just Liz and dad left and then we'll be home again."

"When you put it like that…" Jess made a face before dropping his head on the table.


	47. Family time

**A/N: Sorry again for being late, I'm trying to keep up with a regular posting schedule, but due to a lot of things that's probably not going to happen any time soon. Thank you for the patience and the reviews. **

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**Family time**

"Yay, you're here!" Liz yelped happily a while later, wrapping her arms around Jess while Rory watched them, trying not to laugh at his expression. "I hear my granddaughter's kicking!" She grinned as she hugged Rory, while Jess exhaled loudly, relieved. "Ok, come in before I smother you both with hugs." Leading the way to the living room, she stopped when her daughter ran into the room, crashing into Jess and wrapping her arms around his legs. "Though I make no guarantees about her…" She finished her thought as Rory covered her mouth with her hand, trying not to laugh at Jess, whose eyes were yet again pleading with her to rescue him.

"I missed you, Jess!"

"Can I get a hug as well?" Rory leaned down slightly after letting him suffer for a few seconds and the little girl let go of her brother before looking at Rory, hesitantly.

"Will it hurt the baby?"

"No." She reassured her, smiling and Doula wrapped her arms around her. Ruffling her hair, Rory looked down as Jess sat down, watching the two. "What have you been up to today, Doula?"

"I went to the park with the Steve and Kwan and Vivian and then Davey came by and he tried to take my doll but Mrs. Lane told him to leave me alone and then he…" She started rambling again while Rory tried to keep up, making a mental note to tease her best friend about being Mrs. Lane now.

"Doula!" Liz called her and the little girl sighed, stopping midsentence.

"I know." She pouted before sitting down in an armchair, her feet dangling over the edge.

Sitting on the couch next to Jess, Rory took his hand, looking at Liz. "Yeah, the baby's kicking. It's fun."

"Still feeling ok?"

"Yeah." She nodded.

"How are you holding up, Jess?"

"As long as she doesn't kill me before the baby comes, I'm good." Jess smirked, watching as his sister stood up again and left the room, clearly bored with the conversation.

"Hey, I'm not that bad!" Rory elbowed him, making a face at him. "He keeps complaining like he's the one getting fat."

"Nah, just the one that's constantly cooking to satisfy your cravings."

"Oh, my, I'm touched. Poor you." Rory laughed, squeezing his hand. "Sorry. We get distracted." She focused her attention back to Liz, but the woman waved it off, grinning.

"You kiddin' me? I don't care what we talk about, I barely get to see you as it is."

"When's the fair starting again?" Jess chimed in, trying to avoid the guilt trip.

"We're leaving as soon as Doula's out of the school for the summer, but we're going to stick close by, just so we can drive over and meet the baby after she's born."

Smiling a bit, Jess nodded, squeezing Rory's hand at the same time. "What else is new?"

* * *

A couple of hours and coffee later, Rory and Jess walked out of Liz's house and started heading towards the diner again.

"That was very nice of you." Rory remarked, resting her head on his shoulder as he wrapped his arm around her.

"What was?"

"Staying that long and actually talking to her."

"I'm in a good mood. It will pass." He smirked, kissing her head.

"Man, you actually said that after spending time with Liz. Are you dying?"

"I'm just giving it my best try. Per your request, I might add. I can stop if you want."

"Thank you." Rory smiled softly, lifting her head and kissing his cheek. "Isn't it easier when everyone gets along?"

"Not really." He chuckled, running his hand up and down her waist a couple of times. "You going to Lorelai's for movie night?"

"Probably. Want to come or are you going to stay in, writing your mystery thing?"

"It's not a mystery thing."

"Then why can't I read it?"

"And hear you complain for three days after that I misspelled some 15-letter word?"

"I'm just saying 'deciduousness' isn't…" Seeing him roll his eyes, she bit her lip, before placing another kiss on his cheek. "Sorry." Hugging him closer, she continued to look at him. "But you're just using that as an excuse to not let me read anything you write until it's done."

"What are you going to do about it?" Jess smirked, opening the door to the diner.

"Whine mostly." Laughing, she sat at a table. "Can you go get me coffee and a burger?"

"Why can't you ask Luke?"

"Because he doesn't put bacon on it unless I ask for it and then grumbles about me already passing horrible eating habits to my unborn child."

"Forget about Luke, I'm slightly horrified by your eating habits." Jess stood up, chuckling before placing a kiss on her lips. "I'll be right back. With coffee as well."

"You're my favorite husband ever."

"I'm your only husband."

"That you know of."

"Bigamy is still punishable by law, I can assure you." He smirked before heading for the kitchen. As soon as he was gone, Kirk walked up to Rory's table, a clipboard in his hands.

"Excuse me, Rory?"

"Yes, Kirk." She smiled at the man, looking up at him.

"I was wondering if it would be ok to ask you a few questions?"

"Sure." She pointed at one of the free chairs. "Have a seat."

"I prefer to stand." Taking the cap off a pen, he made a small note on the paper in the clipboard before looking at Rory again. "Lulu and I are thinking of having a child and I'm polling people on advantages and disadvantages of said situation. I have already talked to a few people about kids in general, but I am really trying to get the feel of issues concerning pregnancy, for Lulu. On a scale of 1 to 10, how would you rate your experience with pregnancy so far?"

"Kirk, that's rather personal."

"But you said I could ask."

"I figured you'd want to talk about movies or something."

"I don't watch television anymore. Or go to the movies."

"Maybe you should." Rory smiled sweetly, looking for any sign of Jess.

"Are you willing to discuss your finances and the amount of money it's…"

"No."

"Co-sleeping versus separate…"

"No." She cut him off again, shaking her head.

"Breastfeeding…"

"No!"

"You're no help!" The man huffed, heading back to the counter. Walking to the table and dropping two cups filled with coffee on the table, Jess smirked, pointing his head in Kirk's direction.

"What was that about?"

"Don't ask." She shook her head, laughing. "Where's the food?"

"Luke's making it. He seems to be quite annoyed with me popping in and out of his kitchen as you and Lorelai see fit."

"I'll tell mom to talk to him."

"Clearly, that is the correct answer."

"Clearly." Rory grinned, squeezing his hand.

* * *

Walking into the kitchen of her mother's house later that night, Rory smiled, seeing Lorelai and Luke sitting down, exhausted looks on both their faces.

"What's up?"

"I think it's too late to warn you against having kids, isn't it?" Lorelai shook her head, looking at the door leading to her son's room.

"Probably." Rory rubbed her bump, grinning. "Though I suppose I could always give her away…"

"Don't you dare!" Lorelai laughed, standing up. "I'm going to get the Red Vines out."

"That's my cue to leave the room before I see all the crap you're going to…"

"I love you, Luke." Lorelai chuckled, kissing her husband before pushing him gently towards the door.

"One week of healthy food."

"I ate decently while I was pregnant, never again!" She protested while Rory watched their interaction, smiling. Shaking his head, Luke kissed her one more time, quickly, before waving at Rory.

"Good night, Rory."

"Night." She waved back, sipping from her coffee cup.

Opening a cupboard as soon as her husband was out of the room, Lorelai started digging out bags filled with junk food, smiling. "By the way, stay away from Kirk, he's…"

"Doing a poll. Yeah, he got me."

"Did Jess glare at him menacingly?"

"Nope, he was in the kitchen, getting me food. I don't think Kirk would have come to my table if he'd been there."

"Nicely trained that husband of yours, I like it. Twinkies while we wait for pizza to get here?"

"Oh, yeah." Looking slightly concerned, Rory picked up the phone from the counter. "I feel bad for making Luke go to bed this early, though. It's like I'm kicking him out of his house."

"You're not. He loves it when you're here, it gives him a chance to go to bed ridiculously early without feeling guilty about me being up by myself."

"You sure?"

"He may have learned to delegate a bit when it comes to the diner so he can spend more time with me, Will and April when she's around, but that doesn't mean he likes it."

"How's April doing at Yale?"

"She loves it. It was to be expected, really. Luke's really happy having her near as well, it's sweet." Turning her head towards the door to her son's room, she lifted her hand in the air, motioning for Rory to be quiet while she listened. "Ok, we're safe. Living room." She grabbed the bags of food while Rory took the phone.

"I'll call for pizza."

* * *

"Hey, dad!" Rory greeted the man the next day, hugging him while Jess stood by, watching them.

"Hey, kiddo. You're…"

"Fat?" She interrupted, laughing.

"I was going to say glowing."

"Such a nice lie." She grinned, finally letting go of the man before they all sat down.

"I was not lying." Chris smiled at his daughter before turning his attention to her husband. "How are you doing, Jess?"

"Fine. You?"

"Holding in there. Gigi's nanny is going to drop bring her over in a bit, she was in her Judo class all morning."

"How's Sherry doing with the change?"

"She keeps sending her ballerina outfits. We have about 5 right now in a closet, so if you know anyone, and I do mean anyone that wants one, even if it's to use as a lampshade or flag or something? We keep giving them away but Sherry sends more over."

"Doula might like them." Jess shrugged, looking at Rory and she smiled back.

"I think she'd love them. Mom can alter them to fit her."

"Great, I'll call the nanny and tell her to bring them over."

"Dad, you don't have…"

"Nuh-uh, you said you someone wants them, you're taking them. I'm begging."

"In that case, sure, we can drop them by Liz's place on our way back." Rory smiled and the man stood up, grinning.

"I'll be right back. Thanks!"

Leaning over and placing a kiss on Jess' cheek, she grinned as soon as Christopher was outside. "You were very sweet to think of Doula."

"I just…"

"You can't take it back." She laughed, shaking her head. "I know you're just a sap."

"Did you not have enough confirmation of that with all the crap I do for you and her?" He smiled, looking at her stomach.

"It never ceases to amaze me. Not because you're not nice, because I know you are, but being openly nice and letting someone other than me see it? Especially dad? And after we spent time in Stars Hollow and I got to remember you in all your teenage surliness…" Rory teased him, running her fingers through his hair.

"Brett's never hearing any of those stories."

"Never?"

"Not until she's 25, at least."

"I believe that is a very good call." Rory smiled before kissing him quickly, her hand rubbing her stomach. "Your dad's not the example to follow."

"Don't worry, kid, there are stories you won't hear about your mother either, as much as she likes to pretend they never happened."

"What have I done? Other than the boat thing?" Rory tried to protest, pouting.

"Jumped on a bus and came to see me, to begin with."

Blushing, she bit her lip. "That was your fault. You called me!"

"Whatever."

"Anyway, that's two things. Bet you can't think of a third."

"Ignored your mother who I'm sure she told you not to get in cars with hoodlums driving? Went out of town to a concert without letting her know?" Leaning closer to her ear, he started whispering. "Kissed me while you were technically dating the tall idiot and the blonde idiot?"

"Clearly, all my questionable decisions had to do with you." Rory chuckled, kissing him.

"Ok, just for that, I'm not cooking for you all week. That includes bacon. Really, first implying I'm a jerk, then that…" Jess smirked, placing rapid kisses on her cheek and neck.

"It's ok, I can fry my own bacon." She pulled away from him, laughing.

"I'll make sure to get payback tonight then."

"Promise?" Rory smiled.

"What did I miss, guys?" Christopher walked back to the table before Jess could reply.

"Nothing much." Rory grinned, squeezing her husband's hand under the table.

"Gigi and the nanny will be here in half an hour or so."

"Great."

"So, how's the baby doing? Are you feeling ok?"

"Oh, yeah." Rory nodded, confirming. "And she's great. Kicking a lot, which is fun. I've emailed you the latest ultrasound pictures, haven't I? I swear, I can't remember anything these days."

"Yeah. They're stuck to the fridge."

"Not even we have them on the fridge." Rory chuckled, shaking her head.

"Sure, 'cause there's definitely room with all your lists."

"They keep me organized." Looking back at her father, she smiled. "Anything else new with you?"

"Same old. Emphasis on the old." Christopher laughed as the waitress came to their table.

"Everyone ready to order?"

* * *

Throwing himself on the couch, Jess sighed, closing his eyes.

"Never again."

Sitting next to him, Rory ran her fingers through his hair, smiling. "I'm sorry."

"'S ok." He mumbled, opening one eye to look at her.

"Probably a bit too much family time for one weekend for you, wasn't it?"

"A bit?" Jess smirked, his hand running down her leg.

"Ok, a lot of family time." Leaning down, she kissed him quickly. "Don't worry, you get to decide what we do next weekend."

"Stay in bed and ignore everything?"

"Ok." She smiled, messing up his hair again. "I'll go call for dinner, anything you want?"

"For you to explain to me how you can eat this much?"

"It's a superpower." She stood up, smiling. "So?"

"Thai food?"

"Seriously?" Rory made a face and he smirked.

"Ok, you're not really getting the hang of this whole 'I suffered through Stars Hollow time all weekend for you' thing."

"Fine, Thai food it is, you poor, tortured soul."

"Glad you noticed." Jess chuckled. "Anything in particular you want to watch?"

"Nope, you pick."

"Ok." Sighing, he stood up, walking to the DVD collection. Hearing his phone ring in the hallway where he'd left it, he grimaced, kissing Rory's cheek.

"If it's work, I'm not saving their asses."

"You don't have to." She smiled back, pointing at the door. "Go before it stops ringing, I'll order the food and pick a movie!"

"Nothing boring." He threatened, walking out of the room. A few minutes later, Jess walked back in the room. Sitting on the couch, he smiled when she started rubbing the back of his neck with one hand, leaning closer and placing a small kiss on his shoulder.

"Did Matt or Chris…"

"Nope. Jimmy."

"Everything ok?"

"Yeah." Jess nodded, turning around to kiss her quickly. "He's going to be around next week and wants to meet for lunch."

"Oh…" She hesitated, unsure of what to say.

"He said something about meeting with a supplier or something."

"You going?"

"All by myself?" He smirked, cocking an eyebrow.

"I just…didn't know…" Pouting, she looked down, making him laugh.

"You think I want to spend time alone with Jimmy?"

"Well, he's your father!"

"I'd go with sperm donor, but that's bound to make you blush if you ever try to say it."

"I'm a grown up, I can say stuff like that!" She tried to protest, burying her face in his shoulder and he kissed her temple, chuckling again.

"Sure you can."

Sticking out her tongue, she slapped his arm. "Whatever. Are we going?" She stressed the word 'we', grinning.

"Do you want to go?"

"Not my call." Rory shrugged, kissing him.

"It's lunch, it can't be that bad."

"You seemed to get along at the wedding. At least now you've been talking on the phone more often than before, which should make it even less uncomfortable."

"Or leave us without conversation topics."

"You're trying to be difficult now?"

"Maybe." He smirked, sighing. "I suppose that means…we're going?" He hesitated, grimacing.

"Not if you don't want to."

"I think it's more my self-preservation instinct telling me it's a bad idea." Jess smirked. "What do you think, baby?" He rubbed Rory's bump, chuckling.

"I don't think she has an opinion. Anyway, what's the worst that can happen? We waste a couple of hours?"

"Trust me, I could find a better use for that time."

"Like work?"

"Sure, why not?" Laughing, he leaned back against the couch, cupping her face in his hand. "We'll go. I'll call him back tomorrow."

"Good." She smiled, kissing his palm.

"This is what I get for wishing for two weeks without family." Jess chuckled as she cuddled closer to him. "What movie did you pick?"


	48. Books, dinner and forgiveness

**A/N: Sorry, I know this is late and not that great but stuff is going on, term's started again so I'm trying to brain while on pain meds and life is just .way. At all times. Hope you enjoy this chapter. Reviews are love :). **

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* * *

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**Books, dinner and forgiveness **

Wednesday morning, Jess picked up the phone, dialling his wife's number, while typing with his free hand.

"_I'm busy, talk fast." _Rory finally replied after a few rings.

"Shit, you too?"

"_Me too what?"_

"You're busy as well?"

"_There was a fire downtown so everyone's running around like headless chickens, plus there's this other thing that I can't talk about yet but someone finally called me back and it's very exciting." _She rambled before catching her breath. _"What's up?"_

"Long story short, printers flaked out again and I hoped you could take Jimmy while I figured something out."

"_Sorry." _Rory shrugged, flipping through a pile of post its on her desk. _"Plus, I'm pretty sure he wants to see you, not me." _

"Right now, I couldn't care less what he wants unless he has Bill and Ted's phone booth and will proceed to let me use it so I can talk myself out of signing those morons."

"_Doubt it. Call him and reschedule for dinner."_

"Can I not just cancel instead? I gave it my best try, really. The Universe is trying to tell us something."

"_Jess..." _She snickered, shaking her head.

"Fine, dinner, whatever. Any preferences?"

"_Why don't you just ask him over to our house?"_

"Because then he'd know where we live." Jess smirked, holding the phone up with his shoulder to be able to type his email faster.

"_He lives on the other side of the country, I don't think he's gonna drop by unannounced too often."_

"It still goes against everything I believe in life." He laughed and Rory shook her head.

"_Ok, then pick some other place. Listen, Jess, I really need to..."_

"Yeah, me too. I'll text you later to tell you what's going on."

"_Love you."_

"Bye." Putting his phone down, he grumbled, staring at the screen for a few more seconds before sending the email.

* * *

Leaning against a kitchen counter, Jess looked at Rory, who was pouring herself a cup of coffee.

"I'm a moron." He sighed, running a hand through his hair. "I just couldn't think of..."

"Jess, it's not going to be that bad." She tried to reassure him, walking to him and dropping her mug on the counter before cupping his face in her hand, running her thumb over his cheek slowly. "Promise."

"You're pacifying me." He smirked, leaning over and kissing her quickly.

"Only a little."

"Your mom really needs to stop treating me like a baby, Brett." Jess chuckled, running his hand over her bump.

"Oh, shush." She grinned, kissing him. "It's not going to be that bad."

"Yes, it is. Because I don't have the inbuilt safety feature of meeting people outside of the house - I can't leave when I want. It's on him to go away."

"You're turning this into something it's not. He's not moving in with us, Jess, he's coming for dinner."

"How do you know?" He smirked, pulling her closer. "If he has a suitcase..."

"Ok, now you're seriously being ridiculous." Rory stuck out her tongue, laughing at the same time. "We'll give him a tour, get him a drink, put some food on plates, feed him, send him on his way. I'll even be in charge of the tour if you want, so you don't have to be around him for too much."

"That'd be nice, thanks." Jess laughed, trailing kisses on her cheek. "Promise I'll make it up to you."

"How completely self-serving of you." She replied, amused. "But fine, I'll do it." Hearing the doorbell ring, she untangled herself from his arms, laughing when he pouted. After placing one more kiss on his cheek, she took his hand, starting to drag him towards the front door. "Hey, Jimmy." She smiled at the older man after she'd opened the door, squeezing Jess' hand at the same time, trying to keep him calm.

"Hi." The man greeted back, smiling.

"Hi." Jess mumbled as well, moving to the side to make enough room for the man to walk in. When he didn't move, Rory put on a huge smile, groaning inwardly at their awkwardness.

"Please come in."

Stepping inside, the older man nodded as a thanks. After a few seconds of standing around, without saying anything, Jess pointed at the kitchen, shrugging.

"Going to go check on dinner."

Glaring at him when Jimmy couldn't see, Rory shook her head before turning around to face him again. "Want to go sit down? Take a tour of the house? Something to drink?"

"I'm good." He shrugged before grimacing.

"Sorry, I'm overwhelming you. I should take this one at a time." Rory smiled, resting her hands on top of her bump. "Dinner's not going to be done for a bit, would you like a tour of the house? You don't have to, just beats sitting on the couch."

"A tour would be nice." Jimmy nodded, breathing out loudly. "Unless there's something else you need to do...?"

"Nah, Jess is the one in charge of the cooking process, my skills in that area are very, very limited."

"Is that what you're calling it now?" Jess smirked, leaning in the doorway.

"Oh, go on, I can...uh...make salad?" She made a face before looking at Jimmy. "He might have a point."

"Might?" Jess chuckled again.

"Whatever." She stuck out her tongue quickly.

"Kitchen's this way." Jess flipped his head in the direction of the room, looking at Jimmy. "I heard you were getting the tour."

"I hadn't started yet." Rory waited for Jimmy to walk in the room before following him, running her hand down Jess' arm. "Thank you." She whispered quickly in his ear when the older man turned his back to look around, placing a small kiss on his cheek. "The kitchen's pretty much my favorite room, after the office."

"Only because the food's in here." Jess smirked, his hand resting on the small of her back.

"How very nice of you." Turning her attention back to the older man, she smiled. "You want to see the rest?"

"Yeah, sure."

"Go back to cooking or whatever it is you do in here."

"Hide from you." Jess chuckled making her glare at him. "Dinner will be ready in twenty minutes."

"Ok." Waiting for Jimmy to follow her outside, she lead him to the office, opening the door. "Sorry about the mess, it's more his turf than mine and with work being so crazy lately and all the Stars Hollow trips..."

"It's fine." Jimmy smirked, looking around the room. "You've clearly never seen my office if you think this is messy."

"It's all the books, I swear, they keep appearing."

"Tell me about it." Looking at a shelf, the man ran his hand over the spines of a few books, picking up one of them. "These Jess's?"

"You haven't...?"

"I found a couple online."

"Which one are you missing?"

"_The Subsect_." Jimmy looked back at Rory. "I've been trying to track a copy down, but so far no luck."

"Yeah, they only printed a few hundred copies. There's some talks of printing a new edition, but Jess is stubborn."

"Talk him into it, will you?"

"I'm trying." She beamed happily, her hand resting on her bump.

"He's a really good writer."

"Yeah, he is." Rory nodded. As soon as he put the book back, she tilted her head towards the door. "Want to go see the rest?"

"Yeah." She started heading out, but Jimmy made a face, clearly uncomfortable.

"Can you not tell him about me buying his books...?"

Biting her lip, Rory nodded. "I...uh..." Hearing her phone starting to ring in the other room, she frowned. "Sorry, I need to get that. Could be work."

"Don't worry, I can entertain myself." Jimmy smiled and she left the room, a grateful smile on her face. A few minutes later, Jess walked in the room, finding Jimmy looking at books.

"You ok? Rory was yelling into her phone so I kind of assumed you'd be bored."

"Don't worry, I'm good."

"I can finish the tour if you want."

"Yeah, sure."

Walking into the nursery a few minutes later, after having shown him the bedroom quickly, Jess raised his eyebrows, running a hand through his hair. "It was pink when we moved in here, so we just left it like this. The baby's..."

"A girl. Yeah, you said something on the phone last time we talked. Have you picked a name yet?"

"Brett. Rory gets to pick the middle name."

"Ashley?" Jimmy snickered and Jess shook his head, smirking as well.

"Suggest that to her, maybe she'll throw something at you as well." Jess paused for a second, looking at his father. "I got away with one Hemingway name, no way I get more than that."

"Not a fan?"

"Understatement of the year." He chuckled, nodding. "That poor kid is going to very confused growing up with Rory and me always fighting over writers."

"It's ok, Lily survived." Jimmy laughed as well. "And as far as I know, doesn't hate us either."

"You said something on the phone about Lily starting college in the fall...?"

"NYU."

"Smart kid."

"She's not really a kid anymore." Jimmy smirked, shaking his head. "She said it was either NYU or no college."

"Just as stubborn then, huh?"

"Oh, yeah." He laughed. "Sasha sends her love."

"Say hi back. I should go beck on food." Looking at Jimmy, he shrugged. "Come downstairs, I'll get you something to drink."

"Thanks."

As soon as they were in the kitchen, Jess opened the fridge after having checked on the food, picking up a beer bottle.

"Beer?"

"Sure."

Handing the man the bottle, he picked one for himself before leaning against the counter, keeping an eye on the oven. "Anything else going on in California?"

"Not really."

"Your meeting today went well?"

"Yeah. Proper ketchup bottles acquired."

"And the universe as we know it will continue to exist." Jess laughed, shaking his head.

"Hey, I've been trying to find some to replace the old ones in years."

Walking in the kitchen, Rory filled her coffee cup again, leaning against the counter and looking at the two men. "What did I miss?"

"Nothing much."

"Aw, man, I miss alcohol." She sighed, looking at their beer bottles.

"I can..." Jimmy looked at his bottle, slightly concerned but Rory laughed.

"Please don't worry about me, I was thinking out loud. I'm more of Martini girl anyway." Deciding to switch the subject, she put her mug on the counter, resting both her hands on her bump. "Jimmy, have you been to Philly before?"

"Lived here for a few months."

"Really?" Jess looked at him, surprised.

"I pretty much covered the entire East Coast." Jimmy shrugged, sipping from his beer. "And a lot of other places from here to California. I tried making a list once, stopped when I reached the end of the page."

"That sounds fun." Rory grinned.

"It had its perks. Didn't I tell you about all of this?" He looked at his son, but Jess just shook his head.

"You never mentioned Philadelphia."

"Slipped my mind. It's been a while. Looked different back then."

"Huh. Shocking." Jess deadpanned, picking up a few plates from a cupboard. "Ror, can you...?"

"I'll set up the table." She smiled, placing a kiss on his shoulder on her way to one of the cabinets on the other side of the kitchen.

After as dinner was over, they were sitting in the living room.

"I should probably leave." Jimmy announced, standing up after checking his wristwatch. "I need to go grab my stuff from the hotel before my flight leaves."

"Need a ride?"

"All good, thanks. I have a car picking me up for the airport, I'll just get a cab to the hotel." He smiled at Jess' offer.

"Honestly, it's not a big deal." The younger man shrugged.

"It's late, I don't want to bother you guys even more."

"I don't have anything better to do." Jess smirked, standing up. "I'll grab my keys."

"Jess..." Jimmy tried to protest but he was already out of the room, as Rory watched him, smiling to herself.

"It's ok, I get to clean without him in my way." She looked at the older man, standing up as well, starting to collect the dishes in a pile.

"Thanks for dinner."

"Any time you're around. Sorry about the change in plans, it was just...one of those days."

"I get it." He nodded, shoving his hands in his pockets. Walking back in the room, Jess looked at him.

"Ready?"

"Sure. It was really good seeing you again, Rory."

"You too." She smiled, walking the two men to the door. "Have a safe flight."

"I'll be back in a bit." Jess whispered, placing a small kiss on her lips before heading out the door, following Jimmy.

"Listen, Jess...?" The older man looked at his son after almost ten minutes of driving in silence.

"Huh?"

"Tonight and at your wedding...I didn't get a chance to..."

"If you're trying to apologize, let me spare you the trouble. I don't care."

"Jess, just let me..."

Glancing at the man, he shrugged. "We both know what you did was crap."

"Yeah." Jimmy grumbled, waiting for the rest.

"But it was a long time ago. I've grown up. Gotten over it."

"That still doesn't..."

"Make it better? Change anything?" Jess interrupted. "I know. There's no way to do that and frankly, I'll probably never fully forgive you for that. Or understand you, for that matter."

"Then why are you doing this?"

"You took me in." He clenched his hand harder on the steering wheel, trying to focus on driving. "It didn't work perfectly, but I didn't have to sleep on the street. Now I don't really give a fuck if you did it because you felt guilty or whatnot, I just know you didn't have to do it and it caused you more than enough problems." Looking at the man again as he pulled into a hotel parking lot, he smirked. "I'm just giving you a shot as well."

"Thanks."

"Whatever." He brushed it off, nodding. "Drop by again sometime."

"I'll see what I can do." Jimmy smirked as well.

"See if you can convince Sasha to come with you."

"I'll try." He nodded, looking at the hotel. "Thanks for the ride."

"No problem. Have a safe flight."

"Thanks." Opening the car door, he got out, waving one more time as Jess drove off.

Getting back to the house a while later, he walked in the kitchen, finding Rory washing the dishes. Wrapping his arms around her from behind, he exhaled loudly, staying as close to her as he could.

"Done."

"You okay?"

"Yeah." He nodded, kissing her shoulder. "I love you, Ror."

"I know." She smiled, drying her hands off before turning around in his arms. "I love you too." Looking down at her stomach, her smile grew even bigger. "Yes, love you as well, baby." Picking up Jess's hand, she made sure he could feel the kicks before placing a small his on his lips.


	49. Nightmares

**A/N: *grumble* Chemistry sucks. Thank you for the reviews, keep 'em coming :D.**

* * *

**Nightmares**

Waking up in the middle of the night only to find the bed empty, Jess grumbled, glancing at the clock on the nightstand, seeing it was well after midnight. Not being able to see any light creeping from under the bathroom door, he got out of bed, picking up a t-shirt before walking out. Spotting the open door to the nursery, he walked in, crouching in front of Rory, who was reading in the rocking chair.

"Why you awake?" He closed his eyes, putting both his hands on her knees.

"Bad dream." Rory shrugged, running her fingers slowly through his hair. "Nothing for you to worry about."

"Why didn't you wake me?"

"To do what?" She smiled down at him. "I'm a big girl, I can deal with bad dreams by myself."

"So you can worry about me but I'm not allowed to?"

"Yes, that's exactly how it works."

"Anything I can do to help now that I'm awake? Coffee? Food? Hugs?" Jess offered, smirking before placing a small kiss on her knee. "Go on, you get my services free."

"Coffee sounds good."

Standing up, Jess took her hands, helping her up before starting to head down the stairs.

"Want to tell me what your dream was about?" He asked as soon as they were in the kitchen, turning the coffee machine on.

"Nothing. Just...random nightmare." She shrugged, wrapping her arms around him and he pressed a kiss to her temple.

"I'm sorry." He rubbed her back slowly. "Wake me up next time, I'll keep you company."

"You looked tired."

"It's usually associated with being asleep."

"So? Was I supposed to wake you up, even though you have work tomorrow, just so you could comfort me?"

"Yes." He smiled, tightening his grip on her.

"I'm fine, Jess. Baby was keeping me company."

"Don't be stubborn."

"Fine, I'll wake you up next time, ok?" She conceded, laughing slightly.

"That's all I'm asking." Letting go of her after placing one more kiss on her temple, he poured coffee in a cup, handing it to her. "We should get some tea or something for times like these."

"Like we'd ever drink tea. There's no caffeine in this, it's just as good."

"Ok, but you're going back to bed after that cup."

"And if I don't?"

"I'll carry you." He shrugged, smirking.

"I'm too fat."

"I'll get a wheelbarrow and improvise."

"Where are you finding a wheelbarrow at this time of the night?" Rory smiled, running her fingers through his hair.

"My serial killer kit, of course."

"Now you're a serial killer?"

"Just rising to principal whatever his name was and Taylor's expectations."

"No, I think they pegged you for destruction of property, arson and theft. Maybe drugs."

"Going above and beyond. It's my motto." He chuckled, leaning over and kissing her cheek. "Feeling better?"

"Yes." She whispered, nodding. "Thank..."

"Don't. I want to be here for you." He cut her off, his hand rubbing her leg. "Want to go back to bed?"

"Can I bring my coffee?"

"Will you stay awake for the next half hour, reading while you finish it instead of sleeping, even though you have to get up for work in a few hours?"

"Maybe." She smiled. "But I don't want to leave it here..." She pouted and Jess stood up, caressing her cheek with his fingers.

"I'll wake up and make you coffee again tomorrow morning."

"Bribe me with breakfast and we have a deal. Something more than cereal."

"Fine, breakfast as well. Whatever you want."

Standing up, she wrapped her arm around his waist before placing a quick kiss on his cheek. "You're easy."

"That's the word on the street."

* * *

Dialling her mother's number the next morning, Rory waited for her to pick up, leafing through the stacks of papers on her desk.

"_Good morning, daughter." _

"You're chipper."

"_I'm always chipper, it's part of my charm. What's up?"_

"I need to talk to you."

"_Something wrong?"_ Lorelai asked, slightly concerned.

"I just...had a really horrible dream last night and I need you to knock some sense into me." Taking a deep breath, she sipped from her coffee cup. "I dreamed Jess left me and the baby. There's more to it than that, but that's the gist. Yes, I know he's not leaving and it was just a stupid dream but..."

"_Aw, kid, everyone has those dreams." _

"You sure?" She hesitated, biting her lip.

"_Yes. I had them, Sookie had them, ask Lane, I'm sure she did as well. Rory, Jess loves you. He's not going to take off."_

"I know. I know Jess isn't leaving and I know he wants this kid as much as I do." Rory smiled, glancing at her wedding ring. "But I'm stupid and irrational and hormonal and terrified and you have to tell me I'm all those things and to stop thinking about it."

"_It is stupid and irrational. And especially hormonal. And, annoying as this may be, perfectly normal. Remember when you were really, really small and you had nightmares for three days straight about going to school and your teacher being mean to you?"_

"Uh...no." Rory shrugged, shaking her head.

"_Well, ok, I do. Take my word on this. You had been babbling on and on about finally going to big school all summer and then, a week before, this started." _

"I assume this story is going somewhere."

"_Yes, it is." _Lorelai chuckled, shaking her head. _"The point I was trying to make is that things are scary. Having a baby is about twenty million three hundred and four times scarier than school."_

"Exact number?"

"_Yes." _She grinned, noticing her daughter getting more relaxed. _"And Jess not being there, like your teacher being mean, would make a scary thing way, way worse. But she wasn't and he is not leaving and everything will be just fine, ok?" _

"Promise?"

"_Yes. Promise." _She nodded, trying to be as reassuring as possible. _"Go home tonight, watch a movie to distract you and let Jess tell you all those things again, although I'm sure he already did it a million times."_

Pausing for a few seconds, Rory bit her lip again. "I didn't tell him."

"_What? Why not?"_

"You honestly think that's a can of worms I should open two days after Jimmy's visit?"

"_I think he should know about this. Imagine how you'd feel if he didn't tell you about something that was worrying him."_

"But..."

"_You can do whatever you want, but he's a grown up. You don't honestly believe he'll get annoyed with something you have no control over, like your dreams, do you?" _

"No." She exhaled, biting her lip. "I'll think about it. Mom, I need to get back to work, thanks for the talk."

"_Kid, tell Jess."_

"Bye."

* * *

Walking into the living room on Sunday morning, a cup of coffee in her hand, she sat down on the couch next to Jess. Putting his book down, he leaned over, kissing her cheek.

"Finally awake?"

"What time is it?"

"Eleven."

"Sorry. I didn't get much sleep last night." She closed her eyes briefly, yawning.

"Another nightmare?"

"Yes." Rory confirmed. "I'm sorry I didn't wake you, it just felt stupid doing it."

"This is what, the third night in a row?"

"Yeah."

"At least tell me what it's all about."

"Doesn't matter." She grumbled, standing up and walking to the door to the backyard, looking outside. "Looks like a nice day, I may take my book out there to read."

Walking to her, he placed a small kiss on her neck, wrapping one arm around her from behind. "Hey, talk to me."

"Drop it." Turning around, she shook her head, kissing his cheek. "Sorry, I'm cranky."

"Ok. Anything I can do?"

"No." Picking up her coffee and a book from the coffee table, she looked at the door. "I'll be outside."

* * *

Walking in the backyard a couple of hours later, Jess sat down on the couch next to his wife, running his hand over her leg.

"Have you frozen yet?"

"Just about." She wrapped herself tighter in the blanket. "I went inside and picked this up a while ago."

"Didn't see you."

"Went through the office."

"Ror, are you mad at me?"

"No. Just tired." She shook her head, trying to smile.

"I was going to warm up leftovers, do you feel like lunch?"

"Sure. Let me finish my paragraph and I'll come inside."

"Ok. I'll make some more coffee as well."

"Thank you."

A few minutes later, she walked in the kitchen, refilling her coffee cup before walking to Jess, kissing him quickly.

"How's the food going?"

"Getting there. You sure everything's fine?"

"I'm just tired and annoyed and wishing my brain would work better." She snickered, shaking her head. "Nothing I can't handle."

"I know, just wondering if there's anything I can do."

"No." She shook her head, shrugging. "I'm sorry, it's ridiculous, I don't know why it's bugging me so much. I keep dreaming you leave me and the baby. And again, I know it's stupid and all that, but I just...didn't want to tell you and risk hurting you or making you believe I don't trust you, because I do. I swear I do. It's just my brain working in moronic ways and I don't know it does it, but I'm sorry, ok? I really, really am."

"You're apologizing because you had a weird dream?" He smirked, extending his arm and brushing his knuckles across her cheek.

"Dreams. Three nights."

"Uh-huh. And?"

"And...you're ok?"

"Sure. It was a dream." He chuckled, walking to her and kissing her quickly before heading to the microwave, opening the door and taking out one of the plates, dropping it on the table. "It's not like you can control it."

"You're not..."

"I'm not anything. Should I think anything more of it?"

"No. Definitely not."

"So what's the big deal? Other than, you know, you thinking that I was going to make a scene because of this."

"I...uh...don't know. It makes no sense if you put it like that." She snickered, suddenly relaxed. "Should have listened to mom."

"You told Lorelai about this?" He mumbled this time, his voice colder.

"I had to talk to someone."

Picking up the other plate and shoving it in the microwave, he closed the door a bit more forcefully than necessary. "Huh."

"Jess, I didn't mean anything by it. I was just tired and didn't want to hurt you, so I talked to her instead. She's mom, you know I talk to her about everything."

"Yeah. I'm more concerned with you telling her before you told me. Or that, you know, you apparently had no intention of telling me about it."

"I'm sorry, ok?" Walking to him, she put her hand on his arm, trying to calm him down. "I am. I handled it badly."

"Very badly." Jess snapped, turning around to look at her. "We're married now. I don't know how this works in your head, but I think I have a right to know things that concern me before your mother. Or at all, for that matter."

"Jess, I tell mom everything. You know that. It's always been like that."

"I don't care what you tell her, as long as I get to know them as well, preferably before she does. And hey, I haven't seen you hurrying yet to tell her she's only getting a grandkid because we got too drunk to remember to use anything, so don't give me that."

"Fine. I don't talk to her about our sex life. Here, happy?"

"Yeah, ecstatic. Point is, I don't give a damn what she knows or doesn't know." He tried to argue again, getting increasingly frustrated. "But I'm sure being married to you gives me the right to know some of those things as well."

"Oh, please, you only married me because of the baby." As soon as the words flew out of her mouth, she looked at him, seeing the hurt look on his face, she bit her lip, trying to find the right words.

"If that's what you think, suit yourself." He shook his head, walking past her and out the front door, slamming it behind him.

* * *

Much later that night, Jess walked back in the house. Jumping up from the couch, Rory hurried to him, not wanting to give him a chance to get to a different room.

"I am so, so sorry." She whispered, her hand resting on his arm and he took a deep breath, looking at her.

"You're going to have to do better than that."

"I know." She admitted, nodding. "What I said...it was horrible and I know it's not true. At all."

"Ror, there's got to be a reason for you to have said it." He sighed, running a hand through his hair.

"Because I'm a terrible person."

Tilting his head towards the couch, he waited for her to sit down again before following.

"I mean it, Jess, there is no other reason." She continued, not letting him say anything. "I'm tired, which I know is not an excuse for anything, but here it is and worried and stressed and I'm just...I snapped. It was a cheap shot and I took it and I really have no excuse for it. Well, actually, no, in a list of cheap, horrible shots, this wouldn't even qualify because it was so bad."

"Stop apologizing for a minute." He shook his head, pushing a strand of hair behind her ear. "I just...need you to know you are the only woman I have ever wanted to spend my life with. And that I would have married you no matter what."

"I know."

"Promise."

"I swear. I love you, so much, and I...failed. I suppose there isn't any other way to put it." Feeling her eyes well up again, she took a deep breath, trying to control her tears. "I'm sorry."

"I got that." Giving in, he put his arm around her, waiting for her to hug him before kissing the top of her head.

"I can't stand knowing that I hurt you. I didn't tell you because I was trying to avoid it and then I opened my mouth and I don't know what the hell was wrong with me."

"You're human."

"I'll try to work on that." She smiled, lifting her head and kissing him softly. "This isn't going to be one of those fights that blows over quickly, is it?"

"I don't think so."

"But we'll be ok?"

"Yeah. We will be."

"And Jess, I wasn't trying to keep it from you. Just..."

"I know." He nodded, placing one more kiss on her forehead before standing up. "Did you have dinner yet?"

"No."

"Go on, I'll find us something."

Standing up as well, she hugged him as tightly as she could, burying her face in the crook of his neck. "I love you."

"I know."

"Let's go find food, Han Solo."

* * *

Shooting up in bed, much later that night, Rory buried her face in her hands. Throwing his book to the side, he placed his hand on the small of her back, sighing.

"Again?"

She nodded, confirming, still trying to catch her breath. Moving closer to her, he put his arm around her, one hand smoothing her hair down.

"It's ok, Ror. I'm here."

Clinging to him, she bit her lip as he kept playing with her hair, placing kisses on her temple from time to time. When she was finally calm again, she pulled back, trying to smile.

"Thank you." Rubbing her bump, she looked down at it. "Calm down, baby, we're ok."

"What's she doing?"

"Kicking like a maniac."

Lowering his hand, keeping the other one in her hair, he started running his fingers across her stomach in small circles.

"You're already giving us too much trouble, keep it up and I'm sending you to military school the second you're born."

"I don't think they take babies." Rory giggled, more relaxed.

"Damn. Plan foiled. Church steps?"

"Sounds good to me." She kissed him quickly, lying back on the bed. Propping himself up with one arm, he kept his hand on her stomach, feeling the soft kicks.

"Call your doctor tomorrow, ok? She might be able to help."

"I will." Nodding, she glanced at the clock on the nightstand. "What were you doing up?"

"Didn't want you to have to wake me up. You didn't do it for the past three nights, I figured that wasn't going to change tonight if I wasn't awake." He shrugged, leaning down and kissing her bump. "Really kid, the national soccer team tryouts aren't for a while yet, calm down and let your mom sleep."

"Wait, so you were only awake just in case I woke up?"

"Well, you did, so it's not like it was completely in vain."

"Still? Even after today?"

"Remember our first real fight?" He whispered in her ear, placing a small kiss below it. "I took a couple of cheap shots in that one. We got over it."

"Oh, yeah, I remember." She laughed.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Smirking, Jess traced kisses across her jaw.

"Just...we've been through a lot, haven't we?"

"Yes, we have." He chuckled, moving his body closer to hers. "I don't think it matters anymore. Are we even? Overall?"

"I think the balance is in your favor, so, since it suits me, I'll say yes." She grinned, making him laugh again.

"And on that note, back to sleep."

"You too." She stuck out her tongue, leaning over and picking up his book, placing it on her nightstand before turning off the light. Wrapping his arm around her, Jess placed a kiss on her shoulder.

"I didn't mean to snap at you for talking..."

"I know." She cut him off. "We're done with that fight, it doesn't matter anymore."

"Fine. Sleep well."

"I love you."

"Love you too."


	50. Sugar cures everything

**A/N: Thank you for the reviews, everyone. Keep 'em coming, it's nice to get some encouragement :).**

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* * *

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** Sugar cures everything**

"Called the doctor yet?" Jess smirked, walking in the kitchen Monday afternoon and placing a quick kiss on Rory's cheek, wrapping his arm around her waist.

"Yes." Nodding, she turned around, cradling her cup of coffee in her hands. "She said nightmares are normal, but if they don't stop by Thursday when I was supposed to go see her anyway, we'll talk about it again and she'll see what she can do. And I should drink a glass of warm milk before bed." She rolled her eyes, grinning. "Like I have problems with falling asleep. The staying in said state is the trouble." Laughing, she shook her head before kissing him softly. "How was work?"

"Good. Why are you going to the doctor on Thursday and why did I not know about this?" He changed the subject back, cocking an eyebrow. "You dying or something and have decided to keep it from your loving husband?"

"Oh, please, give me some credit. I would have hid it much better if it actually a secret." Sticking our her tongue, Rory giggled, moving his free hand so he could feel the baby kicking. "I told you about it a while ago, wrote it on the calendar..." Lifting her eyebrows, she looked at the calendar behind him, on the wall and he turned around, glancing at it quickly before focusing his attention back on her. "...It's just the glucose screening thingy. Nothing for you to worry your pretty head about." She teased, kissing the tip of his nose.

"When did you tell me about this? Because I have no recollection of hearing about it."

"A couple of weeks ago."

"Huh." He smirked, shaking his head. "Did I have a book in front of me at the time?"

"When do you not have a book in front of you?"

"Touché." Shrugging, he placed a kiss on her lips. "I must be getting old, though, because I seriously don't remember it. Try getting me when I'm reading a boring book next time."

"That's why we have the calendar." She grinned victoriously before putting her mug down, having finished the last of her coffee.

"So, what time's this thing?"

"Nine, but you don't have to..."

"Yeah, yeah, whatever."

"Thank you." She smiled, kissing him again.

"Do we also happen to have any plans for tomorrow night that I forgot about?"

"Not that I know of. Why?"

"Matt and Chris want to go out for dinner. Matt's bringing Jane."

"Sounds fun. Where are we going?"

"To be determined."

"You have this all nice and planned out then."

"As usual." Jess smirked, moving closer to her, tracing kisses down her jaw line. "We're debating doing an open house, since it's been a while, and we figured it might end up with less bloodshed if there's food around."

"Not a chance."

"We're moronically optimistic, like every damn time."

"How sweet." hugging him tightly, she kissed his cheek. "Call me tomorrow and let me know what the conclusions was and if I need to hurry up at work or not, ok?"

"Will do."

* * *

"My brain is ridiculous." Rory groaned the next morning as they were having breakfast.

"What happened now?"

"Last night. My dreams were like a twenty time more terrifying sequel to _Alien_, with facehuggers and chestbursters and stuff. You don't want to know." She made a face, pushing her cereal bowl aside. "At least the stupidity has gone away. Monsters are easier to deal with."

"I'm not sure if I should be happy for you or not." He rubbed her knee, smiling.

"Be happy. It's a step ahead. And I'm pretty sure _Alien_ bad dreams are mandatory in every pregnancy." Shaking her head, she stood up, getting ready to clean the dishes. "I'm sure they'll go away soon enough." Rubbing her stomach, she smiled down at it. "Now you just remember to use normal, yet equally terrifying methods of being born and we'll be fine."

"And on that note..." Standing up, Jess dropped his dishes in the sink, kissing her cheek quickly. "I'll call you later and let you know about going out."

"Ok. Love you."

Running his thumb over her stomach, he smiled. "Be nice to your mom." Kissing Rory one more time, he headed for the door. "See you later."

"Bye."

* * *

"How do I look?" Rory turned around to look at her husband, who was reading in bed.

"Great. Just like the last three times you asked me."

"Pft, you're a boy, you know nothing of these things. Plus, you're my husband, so it's your obligation to tell me that."

"Then send your mother a picture and let her tell you the exact same thing."

"I'm sure it's in mom's job description to lie to me as well."

"I'm not lying." Putting his book down, Jess walked to her, putting his hands on her shoulders and making her turn around to face the mirror again. Moving closer to her, he glued his body to hers, trailing kisses down her neck. "Trust me, I can demonstrate just how hot I think you are, but that would make us late and then Matt and Chris would make jokes and you'd blush and kick me under the table and you're wearing heels."

"I haven't worn heels since the wedding, it was about..."

"I'm not protesting the heels, just the possibility of suffering their attack."

"So I don't look like a beached whale?"

"No." He shook his head, kissing her neck. "Although, now that I think about it, I'm sure I have some shin pads somewhere so we could..."

"Hey, let's go." She grinned, turning around and taking his hand in hers, starting to drag him towards the door.

"Spoil sport." He tried to whine, catching up to her.

A while later, they were sitting in the quiet pub, almost empty plates in front of them.

"I think turquoise should be our theme!" Matt announced, making the other two guys groan.

"Turquoise is not a theme." Jess pointed out, shaking his head.

"It's a perfectly good theme."

"No." Chris shook his head as well, picking up a now cold fry between his fingers. "I don't care, there is no way I will ever agree to that."

"Add me to that, give or take a few profanities." Jess smirked, picking up his beer. "We don't even need a theme. The theme is books, isn't that good enough?"

"And whatever people try to pass of as art these days. And poetry." Chris smiled at Jane. "If Jane agrees to graciously provide her services again in exchange of free publicity and nothing else."

"Always." The young woman smiled back, nodding.

"It's not like you have a choice anyway, I'd just bug you until you said yes." Matt kissed her quickly, smiling.

"Ok, too much couple-iness going on around here." Chris grimaced, finishing his drink. "I don't like any of you anymore."

"You never liked us." Jess smirked, picking up his empty glass as well as Chris's. "I'm gonna go grab some more drinks, who else needs anything?" Looking at Chris who was getting ready to open his mouth, he smirked. "Other than you, I already assumed your life would be over if I didn't return with more beer."

"Coke, please." Rory smiled at him, running her hand over the back of his leg behind the table.

"Beer."

"Coke." Jane added after Matt, winking at Rory. "Good to not be the only one not drinking for a change."

"I'll be back."

"Say that in a Terminator voice next time!" Chris called after him, chuckling.

"Seriously, help me out here." Matt looked from his girlfriend to Rory, completely ignoring Chris. "Turquoise would be a wonderful theme, right?"

"No." Jane shook her head, leaning over and kissing his cheek. "I love you, but no."

"And, no matter how you want to pretend it's not true, I have veto power." Chris pointed out, grinning.

"Damn you."

"Hey, you're always free to leave and start your own business."

"And deprive you of the pleasure of spending five days a week in the same office as me? Never!"

"When you put it like that, I may have to quit myself." Chris shook his head, staring at his empty glass. "Hey, your husband's taking a lot of time with that drink. Does he not know what I have to deal with here?"

"What, you think we have some sort of super-special bond that will bring him back?" Rory grinned, glancing at the bar, seeing Jess talking to a woman who was standing there while the bartender was pouring their drinks. "It looks like he'll be back soon, I don't think you'll die of dehydration."

"I'm not sure, there's a serious risk over here." Chris grinned again, shrugging. "So...open house?"

"Yes. We've already decided it's going to be yes."

"No theme, nothing. I don't care." Chris shook his head. "Two weeks from Saturday. That should give us enough time to organize everything but not be stale and..."

"A month." Jess walked back to the table, putting a couple of glasses on it. "No way we're doing it like last time." Leaving again, he came back with the other three glasses, placing them next to the others. "I want to sleep in the next couple of weeks, thank you very much." He sat back down next to Rory, resting his hand on her leg.

"You seemed preoccupied with the girl at the bar." Rory whispered in his ear, while the other two guys kept bickering about the open house.

"I think she was preoccupied with me." He smirked back, moving his hand over her shoulders and placing a kiss on her temple. "I'm sure she's a very nice person, but I couldn't care less. Chris, you might want to go get the next round." He raised his voice enough for the other people to hear, smirking at the guy glanced at the bar, chuckling.

"You're a very good friend."

"Just trying to get rid of you."

"I love you too, pumpkin." Chris grinned. "We've decided on April 20th. Good with you?"

"Yeah." Jess nodded, picking up his beer. "Same distribution of tasks as usual?"

"I'll get started on the invites." Matthew nodded, kissing Jane's cheek quickly.

* * *

"She was very pretty." Rory smiled, sitting on the bed later that night, kicking her shoes off.

"Who?" Jess mumbled, standing in the doorway between the room and the bathroom, brushing his teeth.

"The girl at the bar."

"The one that went home with Chris?"

"Did she?" She looked at him, surprised.

"Yeah." Jess mumbled again, nodding. Walking back to the sink, he rinsed his mouth as she walked past him, picking up her toothbrush.

"She hit on you first."

"So?" He smirked, leaning in the doorway again as she squeezed toothpaste on the brush.

"I don't like it when women hit on you." She shrugged, pouting slightly and kissing him quickly before starting to brush her teeth.

"Because I enjoy so much seeing guys ask you out the second I'm more than five feet away from you?" He cocked an eyebrow, watching her as she kept brushing her teeth.

"Wike awywone's..." She started mumbling but Jess shook his head.

"Spit first."

"Like anyone's going to hit on me now!" She grumbled after she spit, looking at her stomach. "I'm not exactly a candidate for Miss Universe."

"You're beautiful." He walked to her, placing a kiss on her shoulder. "And I'm pretty sure you're very wrong on the whole hitting on you issue."

"I don't think you have anything to worry about." Rinsing her mouth, she put her toothbrush back, taking Jess' hand and starting to walk towards the bed. "I know it's stupid, but she was so pretty and her hair wasn't a mess and she was drinking wine and wearing seriously high heels and I really, really miss feeling that put together right now and I know I'm not going to get to feel like that any time soon and I'm happy, because I love our baby and definitely don't want her to come out before it's time, but I'm also sad." Letting out a breath as soon as she reached the end, she pouted slightly and he lifted his head, kissing her softly.

"I wasn't interested..."

"I know you weren't. I just miss feeling like a grown up instead of a baby incubator."

Chuckling, he sat down next to her, hugging her tightly as she wrapped her arms around him as well. "Anything I can help with?"

"Let me be silly and not mock me?" She smiled, running her hand through his hair.

"I wasn't going to."

"Even though I'm a crazy mess?"

"Even though." He nodded, lying in bed, taking her with him. Curling up on his shoulder, Rory wrapped her arm around him, smiling as she looked at him.

"Promise me I'll be pretty again someday."

"Nope."

"Hey!" She slapped his arm, blinking rapidly.

"You're already pretty, I can't promise you anything stupid like that."

"Thank you." She buried her face in his shoulder, kissing his skin.

"Don't mention it."

* * *

"What are you doing?" Rory asked groggily, opening her eyes on Thursday afternoon. "Work. You should be at work. I should be at work."

"Shut up." He leaned down, kissing her forehead. "How's the headache?"

"What headache?"

"Loopy much?" He smirked, hugging her close.

"What am I missing?" She mumbled, burying her face in his chest, thankful that the room was dark.

"You got a headache from the sugary crap they made you drink. Really, we all expected better from you. Lorelai may disown you."

"I passed the test, right?"

"Yes, you did." Kissing the top of her head, he smiled. "Like you've ever failed a test."

"Hope the kid takes after me then." She mumbled again, pulling the blanket tighter around them. "You're comfortable."

"Thank you."

"Gah, my head is pounding." She closed her eyes again, pinching the bridge of her nose between her fingers. "Times like these, I really miss painkillers."

"Anything I can do?"

"No, but thank you again."

"Just doing my job." He kissed her forehead again. "I think this is the first time in the last few days when you sleep for more than a couple of hours without waking up."

"Monitoring my sleeping habits?"

"Maybe. What are you going to do about it?"

"Thank you?" She smiled softly, lifting her head and kissing him. "You spoil me too much."

"Nah, I've been spending my time thinking I should have let you get that baby monitor so I could make sure you were sleeping while reading in another room. You sleep on me, it makes it very hard to hold up a book." He joked, cupping her face in his hand. "Feeling better?"

"Better rested, in any case. Maybe the solution all along was sleeping during the day."

"If only that pesky job thing wasn't in the way."

"There's a downside to everything." Yawning, Rory stretched her arm and neck. "God, I'm starving."

"We can go get some food in you."

"It may be the only option if you want me to live." Pulling herself up, awkwardly, she started walking towards the kitchen with Jess following behind her. "Why do I have shoes on?" She looked back at him, confused.

"You kidding me? I barely got you in bed. I was not going to even try to get your shoes off."

"I remember waking up at some point..."

"Yeah, when the nurse had to draw blood. Also, she tried to coerce me into promising I will repeat her lecture about having food before doing this, if there is a next time. I'll skip the whole thing, but point is-eat something."

"But early morning grogginess couldn't have helped me trying to remember the no sugar thing." She started scouring the fridge, pulling out a container of Chinese food and putting it on the counter next to her. Taking it away, Jess dropped it in the microwave while she grabbed a peach, biting into it. "Food-awesome invention!"

"Yeah, I heard you're a fan. By the way, your phone was ringing earlier."

Nodding, she kept chewing on the peach, glancing at the microwave to check the time before picking up her phone, dialing the voicemail number.

"Grandma." She mouthed to Jess, grimacing. "Baby shower."

"Again?"

Rory nodded, throwing her peach pit as she kept listening to the message. Dropping her food on a plate, Jess sat down, waiting for her to be done.

"Argh!" She grumbled, throwing the phone on the table and he caught it in his hand before it hit the wall. Picking up a fork, Rory started eating, looking at him at the same time. "I really, really wish she would stop talking about this. Really." She grinned between bites.

"Do I even want to know what she wanted?"

"To talk canapés and to inform me that there won't be any ridiculous games like there were at the shower her friend was telling her about."

"Yeah, I didn't."

"Trust me, that's the very condensed version."

"I don't doubt it. So she's still going ahead with the shower thing?"

"Apparently so. I don't have the energy to fight her."

"Good luck." He chuckled, leaning back in his chair.

"Way to be supportive. You should call her back and tell her you won't allow me to go or something. Pull the furious husband act."

"Sure." He drew out the word, chuckling. "'Cause that would totally work with Emily."

"Lock me in the house, please?"

"Immediately." Jess smirked, standing up. "I'll be in the office when you're done eating, I have some work to catch up with after lazying it up in bed all day."

"Thank you."

"For?" He leaned down, kissing the top of her head.

"Staying in bed with me."

"Anytime."

* * *

Leaning down and placing a small kiss on Jess' forehead the next morning, Rory waited for him to wake up, a couple of cups of coffee on the nightstand.

"Morning." He mumbled, opening one eye.

"Good morning." Kissing him again, she smiled, running her fingers through his hair.

"I don't wanna."

"Don't wanna what?"

"Wake up. Work. That crap." Jess sighed, sitting up in bed and grabbing a cup. "Though I like being waking up to this."

"Figured I owed you as much. I'll go bring breakfast as well." She tried to stand up but he caught her, wrapping his arm around her waist, keeping her in bed.

"I'll live." He pulled her closer to him, smiling. "How'd you sleep?"

"Great."

"Seriously?"

"No nightmares." She shook her head, grinning.

"Finally." Jess kissed her, smiling. "So now what we need to do is schedule any sort of doctor's appointment for you every time you have a bad dream?"

"I think it'd be safest."

"I'll make a mental note."

"I'll probably spend the entire weekend sleeping to catch up after last week though." Rory leaned over, grabbing her coffee mug.

"You spending a whole weekend in bed? That I'd like to see."

"I sense disbelief."

"I've known you too long to buy that for even a second. Very cute of you to try."

"I'm going to prove you wrong. I'm going to do nothing but stay in bed all weekend. You just wait."

"Huh. Can't wait." He smirked, kissing her quickly and she shook her head.

"Damn you."

"You can't go back on your word now, I'll be very disappointed." Jess chuckled.

"Go to work." She pointed to the door, laughing as well.

"Keep the bossiness for the weekend." He teased, kissing her neck before jumping out of bed and heading for the shower.


	51. Butteredup paranoia

**Buttered-up paranoia**

"Good morning." Rory sat down on the edge of the bed Saturday morning, placing a quick kiss on Jess' cheek.

"Morning." Wrapping his arm around her waist, he pulled her closer to him, smiling. "Where have you been?"

"Out getting breakfast."

"Why?" He mumbled again, pushing her down on the mattress while he moved his body up at the same time, holding himself up on his arms, slightly to the side of her. "Wasn't there some sort of mention of you spending all weekend in bed?"

"I thought you would be sleeping." She replied, lifting her head slightly and kissing the tip of his nose. "I wanted to do something nice for you."

"Something nice would have been waking me up by..."

"Don't finish that thought." She laughed, kissing him again. "Pig."

"Uh-huh." Tracing kisses down her jaw and neck, he smirked. "So, this breakfast of yours…?"

"Can wait."

"Good call." He smirked again, making her chuckle.

* * *

"No." Catching her hand, Jess kept Rory in bed, stopping her from getting up again.

"Breakfast!" She fought back, laughing. "I'm going to be two minutes, I'm sure you can deal with it."

"Nope. Can't." He sighed, trying to sound as dramatic as possible. "I'll die."

"Aw, that's a shame." She giggled again as he tightened his grip on her.

"Hear that, kid? This is how much she cares about me." Jess sighed again, moving closer and placing a small kiss on her stomach. "She doesn't even care if I die."

"I'm a busy woman, I can't concern myself with such trivial issues." Rory ran her fingers through his hair, sticking out her tongue. "Now behave while I go get food. Because, even if you're not hungry, I'm feeding two here and your daughter is very insistent on the issue."

"She's blaming you, huh?" Jess chuckled, trailing more kisses on her bump. "She can't even be a grown up and accept responsibility." He shook his head as his wife laughed again, still trying to pull his hand out of his grip.

"No. I can't. I'm terrible like that. Now can I please go downstairs and get food before I starve to death?"

"Only if you promise you'll be back as soon as humanly possible."

"Promise."

"And I fall for her lies again, kid." He chuckled, placing one last kiss on her bump before letting go of her hand.

"You poor thing." Standing up, Rory ruffled his hair, smiling down at him. "Want food?"

"Yes."

"And coffee?"

"Yes."

"Anything else?"

"You."

Smiling softly, she bit her lip. "You're being excessively silly this morning."

"I was promised a whole weekend in bed. You must not break a promise. Really, it's in the marriage rule book."

"Fine. I'll be back in five minutes with food and then I'm not leaving you again until lunchtime."

"I'm starting to think food is more important to you than I am."

"Took you long enough to realize it." She laughed, heading for the door.

A few minutes later, she walked back in the room, balancing a tray in her hands before setting it on the bed, letting out a breath.

"Managed to not spill anything."

Grabbing the tray form her, Jess waited for her to sit down in bed, curling her legs under her before grabbing a coffee cup.

"There's real coffee in the other one."

"You've seriously made two different pots of coffee?"

"I bought it and reheated it." She shrugged, smiling. "Now shush and eat your breakfast."

"Yes, dear."

* * *

Walking into the office, much later that night, Rory found Jess sitting in the arm chair and wrapped her arm around his shoulders, smiling.

"How's the writing going?"

"Mostly procrastinating and browsing the internet." He put his laptop on the side table, looking up at her.

"In the name of research, I assume."

"Research, yes. I like anything that doesn't make me sounds lazy."

"Anything I can get for you?"

"Nope." Pulling her towards his lap, he smirked when she tried to fight him off, slapping his hands away from her waist.

"Jess, I'm too heavy." She shook her head, using her hand to push herself away from him.

"Shut up." He chuckled, rolling his eyes and she finally let him take her down, wrapping her arm around his neck. "What's up with you?"

"Nothing."

"So you're buttering me up for nothing?" He placed a small kiss on her shoulder, his hand holding her legs while the other was wrapped around her waist. "What, do you have a new guy or something?" He smirked, kissing her shoulder.

"Yes. I've been trying to find a way to tell you."

"I'm not sure how I should reply. I bet he's not as good looking as I am, though."

"Oh, I don't know, he's not bad." Rory giggled, leaning closer and kissing him softly. "I'm mostly just working off the guilt." She admitted, laughing again. "I haven't exactly been greatest wife material lately, so I wanted to at least try and make it up to you."

"Huh."

"No huh-ing me." She shook her head, placing more kisses on his lips. "And don't say anything either. There's no downside to this for you, so just let me do whatever I can to make you happy." She ruffled Jess' hair and he nodded.

"Ok."

"That easy?"

"What, I'm going to object after being told not to?" He argued, smirking.

"Good choice." She grinned, kissing him again before trying to pull herself up.

"Nope. I want you here. It would make me very happy."

Rolling her eyes, Rory tried to shift her weight as far from him as she could before messing up his hair again. "Whatever."

"The love, ladies and gentlemen. You can just feel it."

"Your turn to shut up." She covered his mouth with hers, wrapping her arms around his neck.

* * *

Walking into the kitchen on Thursday evening, Jess wrapped her arms around Rory, placing a small kiss on her neck.

"Hey."

Twisting her head back, she smiled, kissing him quickly. "Hi. Twenty six weeks."

"Yeah, I know. How are you holding up?"

"Kidding me? Baby now has a ninety percent chance of surviving. I'm way more than good."

"Paranoid much?"

"Oh, I'm sorry, who was up a few days ago, reading on viability ages?"

"Just…checking my facts." He shrugged, trailing kisses on her shoulder.

"Sure. You're not a sap at all." Rory laughed, turning around in his arms and placing a small kiss on his lips. "How was your day?"

"Would have preferred being in bed with you, but I'll take what I can get."

"Matt will be disappointed to hear he's not top of your list of priorities."

"I'm sure even he realizes that the wife and kid come first." He smirked, looking down. "Yes, we're talking about you. Sheesh, she's strong."

"Yeah, tell me about it." Rory laughed, kissing the tip of his nose. "Though I seriously miss being able to hug you without her in the way."

"I miss doing other things without her in the way." He cocked an eyebrow, chuckling when her cheeks turned the smallest bit redder. "How can you still blush over stuff like that?"

"It's stupid, I know." She bit her lip, looking down again and Jess cupped her face in his hand, smiling.

"It's endearing."

"You sure?" She pouted slightly and he nodded, laughed again.

"Yeah." He placed a small kiss on her forehead. Her expression suddenly changing to a grimace, she took a quick, sharp breath as her hand moved to her bump. Moving back, Jess looked at her, concern written on his face. "You ok? Did I hurt you or something?"

Shaking her head, she took a couple of breaths, holding a finger on the other hand up, motioning for him to wait.

"Ror.…"

Letting out another breath, she let go, looking more relaxed. "Sorry."

"You're really good at freaking me out, you know that, right?"

"I didn't mean to."

"I know." Seeing her attempt at a smile, Jess moved closer, wrapping his arms around her. "Everything alright?"

"Yeah. It just…hurt." Changing her mind, Rory shook her head. "Actually, not really hurt. More crampy, less pain."

"Do you want to go to the ER or something?"

"Can I just sit down instead?"

"Sure. Water?"

"Yeah." She nodded, still biting her lip as he moved his hand around her waist, picking up her hand with his other one and draping it over his shoulders, trying to hold her up as well as he could as he headed towards the living room, after a quick glance at the chairs. As soon as they reached the couch, he helped her sit down before crouching down in front of her, the concerned look still on his face.

"I'm going to go get you some water. Don't move."

"What, you think I'm going to go for a run?"

"I never know with you." He smirked before rushing towards the kitchen. Getting back a few seconds later, he handed her a glass of water, watching her grab it with both hands before drinking almost half of it. Crouching down next to her again, he put his hands on her knees, looking up at her.

"Feeling better?"

"Yes."

"Lie down." Rory tried to protest, but he glared at her, pretending to be menacing and she ended up laughing as she lied down, dropping the glass of water on the floor. "You sure you don't want to go to the emergency room?"

"Jess, I'm fine."

"Call the doctor?"

"Jess…" She rolled her eyes, giggling. "You're being overprotective."

"Nuh-uh. You don't get to say that."

"I didn't mean to scare you."

"Oh, how nice, she's concerned about me." He chuckled again, squeezing her hand in his before placing a quick kiss on her fingers. "Are you absolutely sure you're ok?"

"Yes."

"How absolutely sure? I mean on a scale from one to ten...?"

"Twenty."

"That's not on the scale." He poked her in the ribs gently, releasing a breath as he slouched his shoulders, finally more relaxed. "At least call your mom, if only to make sure I don't go completely gray in the next ten minutes. She may not have a medical degree, but since you're being your usual stubborn self, it's the least you can do for me."

"Fine." She smiled, extending her hand and ruffling his hair. "Only because I like your hair the way it is."

"Thank you." Rory tried to move up, but he glared at her, shaking his head. "Don't even dare."

"Jess, I'm fine."

"The smallest sign that you're not, and I am dragging your butt to the ER so quickly you'll think I turned into fucking Superman and flew you there."

"I love you." She called after him, making him smile as he handed her his phone.

"I know. Call your mom, I'll be in the kitchen, getting your dinner done. Get off the couch at your own risk."

"I'm a prisoner!"

"Yes. Now stop annoying me and call Lorelai."

"I'm fine!" She yelled again as he left the room, shaking his head slowly. Less than five minutes later, Jess walked back in the room as soon as Rory put the phone down.

"What did she say?"

"Were you eavesdropping, waiting for me to be done with the call?"

"Yes." He replied, dryly, making her laugh and shake her head.

"Should have let grandma buy us a mansion so I could hide from your insanity."

"Right. I'm the crazy one. So?"

"She says it's nothing to worry about, most likely just a Braxton Hicks contraction. And now you can finally get off my back."

"She still insists on calling them that ridiculous thing? What was it…double something?"

"Double T." Rory laughed when she saw him rolling his eyes. "Tony and Taylor."

"Right. Like the universe needs more proof that your mother should be seeing a shrink."

"Are you feeling better now?"

"Getting there." He admitted, running a hand through his hair. "Give me some time to recover."

"When I tell you you're crazy, you argue." She giggled again, looking at him. "Come sit down, crazy."

"I should go actually get started on dinner."

"What were you doing just now?"

"Pacing around, wishing I hadn't quit smoking." He smirked, walking to her and sitting down on the edge of the couch, close to her. "Are you sure you're fine?"

"Yes." She reassured him again, pushing herself up and kissing him. "Very sure. And please don't ask me again, because the circles we're going in are starting to make me dizzy."

Smiling, Jess nodded before kissing her again, his hand cupping her face. "I don't like you hurting."

"I know."

"I'll go make food." Lifting his head, he kissed her forehead, pushing a strand of hair behind her ear. "Be good."

"By that you mean sit my butt on the couch?"

"I'd prefer it."

"Fine." Rolling her eyes, she sighed, making him smirk.

"You poor thing. Hard life I'm sentencing you to."

"Horrible actually." Laying back down, she grinned, rubbing his knee. "We can just call for dinner. This way, you can keep an eye on me, make sure I don't decide to practice my marathon runner skills."

"If you insist…" He chuckled, taking his phone back from her and moving to the other end of the couch, picking up her feet and placing them in his lap. "Chinese?"

"As long as you convince them to put bacon on anything."

"Oh, this is going to be fun." He smirked as he started dialing the number.

* * *

"Am I crazy?" Rory shot up in bed later that night, looking at Jess, who was still reading.

"What?" Putting his book down, he looked at her.

"I cannot do this!"

"Do what?"

"I cannot have this baby!" She pointed at her stomach, standing up and starting to walk around the room, while Jess kept looking at her.

"I'm sorry, but what the hell are you on about?"

"There is no freaking way I will give birth! No. Way." She shook her head furiously. "Are you insane? Am I insane? Are we both completely out of our minds? I don't like pain! I cannot freaking deal with pain! How the hell am I expected to squeeze a human being out of me?"

"Ror, you need to calm down."

"Calm down? Are you freaking joking? Unless you've found some way to magic Brett out of me, I will not calm down. I can't do this." She shook her head again and Jess stood up, walking to her. Putting his hands on her arms, he made her stop pacing, looking into her eyes.

"Calm down." He repeated.

"No!"

"Ok, panic until it's no longer real."

"You think that's gonna work?" She asked, a hopeful edge in her voice, making him chuckle.

"Doubt it."

"Jess, I can't do this."

Moving closer, he wrapped his arms around her, hugging her as tightly as he could. "Yes, you can."

"No, I really can't. Things coming 'round the mountain? Not for me. This baby will have to either stay in there for ever or find some other way of getting out. That's it."

"So being pregnant for ever is a better alternative?"

"To giving birth? Yes, it is. Also, if you dare remind me I said that at any point in the future, I will cause you so much pain I'll make the Inquisition look like a walk in the park."

"Ok." He laughed, shaking his head. "What was that about coming 'round the mountain?"

"Long story. But I'm serious. There is no way in hell I can go through labor. Nuh-uh."

"I think you're about 6 months too late in reaching that conclusion."

"Well, if we'd put any thought into having this child, I would have figured it out. Seriously, I plan everything and this is the one thing that we let happen and now I have to do it because damn it, no one has figured out a way for you to be the pregnant one. Or for them to just zap her out of me or something." Shaking her head, she looked at him, teeth biting her lip. "I went crazy again."

"You're always crazy."

"This was Doublemint crazy."

"I doubt there was any pleasure in there. For either of us."

"Not much fun either." She shrugged, looking down at her stomach. "It's worth it, right? This whole baby thing?"

"So I hear." He smirked, kissing her softly. "I can't speak from experience, as I'm pretty sure there aren't any of my progeny walking the earth yet."

"There better not be. I think everyone's heads might explode if that happened. We'd be too Luke and Lorelai."

"Trust me, my head's the first one gone."

"So, if there's one thing we learned tonight, is that we're definitely not ready to be parents. Or at least I am not ready for the birthing thing. Don't get me started on dropping her on her head."

"Kid, you don't mind us completely botching your life, do you?" Looking down at her bump, he smirked. "Huh, no answer. I'll take that as an indication that she doesn't mind."

"Convenient." Grabbing his hand, she looked at the bed, trying to stifle a yawn. "I'll resume the pacing in the morning."

"Good choice." Moving back to his side of the bed, Jess waited for Rory to curl up next to him before turning off the lights, making sure she was covered with the blankets.

"You're not going to keep reading?"

"Tired." He kissed the top of her head, hugging her tighter. "Night."

"Night." After a few minutes of silence, she kissed his shoulder, hesitating slightly. "Jess…?"

"Huh?"

"Do you think we can do this?"

"Yeah." He nodded once, kissing the top of her head.

"Having absolutely no choice in the matter does help a lot, since I'm pretty sure there's no way Brett's going to have to be born eventually." She laughed at herself, shaking her head. "I love you, sleep well."

"Love you too."


	52. The Grinch won't steal Christmas

**A/N: So, how does one do a Christmas chapter when the timeline for the story is in March?...Carefully. Merry Christmas, everyone. And thank you for the reviews, support and well wishes. I'm overwhelmed with everyone who took the time to send me a message. Thank you. **

* * *

**The Grinch won't steal Christmas**

"Santa Claus!" Rory exclaimed, pausing the movie.

"What fictional character is said to deliver present to children on Christmas?" Jess asked, a confused look on his face. "Sorry, I thought we were playing Jeopardy." He chuckled when she slapped his leg, placing a kiss on her shoulder. "Though, to be fair, you didn't give me a category…"

"What are we telling baby about Santa?"

"That he's a fictional character that delivers present to children on Christmas?" He shrugged, laughing again. "Why are we having this conversation in March?"

"Because I was watching reruns of _Home Improvement _earlier and I remembered I wanted to ask your thoughts on this."

"I have none." Jess picked up his coffee cup, looking longingly at the TV. "Can we finish the movie now?"

"Jess, this is serious!"

"Why can this not wait until she's actually born and old enough to care? I doubt a five month old will remember anything about Christmas, we can get away with it until next year."

"But I want to settle this now!"

"Why?"

"Because I'm insane, that's why." She stuck out her tongue, laughing. "I don't care if it's March, I want to have a definitive answer on whether or not our daughter will grow up believing there's a Santa Claus."

"Christ." He sighed again, shaking his head. "Your mother is going to drive me crazy one of these days, kid." He smirked at her stomach. "I'm going to assume you're voting yes on the issue."

"I'm not voting. I want to hear what you think first."

"I don't care. And honestly, even if I do, there's no way I'm stupid enough to try to fool myself thinking that you and Lorelai are going to let me get away with ruining poor Brett's Christmas from now until the end of time by not making her believe that some random fat guy with a beard delivers presents."

"She's not just my kid. And mom doesn't get a vote. If you don't want a Santa, then we won't do it." She smiled softly, trying to appease him. "We're in this together."

"So if I say no Santa…?"

"Then I would like to know why, but we'd end up not doing Santa."

"Ror, I'm not saying I don't want to do this. I just don't see the point in telling her that Santa gets her presents."

"So you want the glory?"

"No." He shook his head, smirking. "I just…I don't know. I don't care. We'll do Santa if that's what you want. Fuck knows I want her to have as normal of a childhood as possible and Santa's just that, isn't it?"

"Did you never, even for a little bit believe in Santa when you were a kid?" Rory ran her fingers through his hair, leaning forward and kissing his forehead.

"In Liz's house? You're cute." Jess laughed, shaking his head again. "I didn't exactly have presents, let alone a Santa."

"No presents?"

"Not unless Luke sent them." Shrugging, he kissed her softly, seeing her expression change. "No crying."

"But…"

"No crying." He repeated more forcibly, placing quick kisses on her lips and nose. "Please."

"Right, tell your emotional pregnant wife not to cry." Rory giggled, wiping her eyes at the same time. "She wants to hug you too." She took his hands, placing it on her stomach.

"I think you're the one out of the two of us that needs cheering up." He remarked, pulling her into a hug, his hand still lingering on her bump. "So, Santa? Yes or no in the end?"

"I say yes. If only so we can get the pictures of her with him." She smiled, twisting her head enough to place a kiss on his cheek. "I used to love doing that when I was a kid."

"I know, you've made me sit through the endless string of pictures." He smirked, placing a small kiss behind her ear.

"Hey, Luke has one of you, Mister I-never-believed-in-Santa."

"He paid me 20 dollars." He shrugged, thinking of the day the now infamous picture had been taken.

* * *

_"Jess, please." The man sighed, looking at the seven year old boy who was sitting on the plastic chair, a book hiding most of his face._

_"No."_

_"Your mom will like it."_

_"Mom won't care." He sighed, shaking his head. "She didn't care about my school picture either."_

_"I thought you looked very good in it." Luke clenched his fists, trying not to get annoyed with his sister. "Plus, your mom's got a job now, things are going to be better for you guys."_

_"She's had four jobs this year."_

_Standing up, Luke walked around the table, pulling the book down gently to be able to look at the child. "Jess, she's trying really, really hard to do what's best for both of you. And she loves you, you know that, right?"_

_Rolling his eyes, Jess glanced anxiously at his book, wanting to get back to it._

_"Ok, if you don't want to do it for her, how about you do it for me? I have your other pictures at home, I'll take this one with me and put it next to them."_

_"No."_

_"I'll buy you a book?" He tried to bribe him and Jess' eyes lit up as he weighed up the offer in his head._

_"No." He decided after a while, shaking his head again._

_"Two books?"_

_"No."_

_"Fine, I'll get you a book and twenty dollars."_

_"Pleasure doing business with you, uncle Luke." The boy extended his arm, still smirking and Luke shook it, ruffling his hair._

* * *

"Seriously?"

"Oh, yeah." He nodded, kissing her head again. "What, you honestly thought that was the face of a kid that wanted to be there?"

"I think you looked very cute."

"There's got to be some sort of rule against smoking crack while pregnant."

Pulling away from him, she stuck her tongue out, giggling at the same time. "Nah, don't think so."

"Good to know, I'll get the pipe out." Jess smirked as well, leaning over and kissing her quickly. "When she finds out that there's no Santa, you don't get to pout for ages though."

"Depends, are you planning on having anything to do with that discovery? Because if you don't want to play along, we should just not do it altogether."

"I'll eat the damned carrots if you want me to." He admitted, nodding, his hand resting on her stomach again. "Whatever."

"Sing _Rudolf the Red Nosed Reindeer_?"

"Ok, almost whatever. You two can sing all you want, I'm staying away from that."

"Spoilsport."

"No way." Jess shook his head, picking up his coffee cup only to find it empty. "I do reserve the right to direct her to you when she's old enough to have any serious inquiries about his existence because I'm not going to be the one that tries to convince her not to tell all the other kids on the playground about this."

"To be fair, you'd probably be the one spilling the beans." Rory snickered, looking at the mug in his hand. "Were you going to go get more?"

"Why, yes, I was. I assume…"

"I love you." She grinned, nodding.

"How long until we can have a robot Rosie around the house, getting us drinks instead?"

"A while, I think."

"Can I train Brett instead?"

Rolling her eyes, Rory nodded. "As soon as she's old enough to walk. Now go get me coffee."

"Yes, master." He replied, standing up and picking her empty cup as well. Following him into the kitchen a couple of minutes later, Rory wrapped her arms around his waist, hugging him as close as she could, pressing her bump against him.

"Remember our first Christmas together?"

"First time around or this time?"

"I saw you for like five whole minutes when we were in high school." She laughed, shaking her head. "You didn't want to share any holiday cheer."

"Trust me, I wouldn't be doing it now either if I had a choice."

"You have a choice."

"Not if I want to spend any time with you, I don't." Jess turned around in his arms, tilting his head towards the coffee machine. "Still brewing, gonna take a minute or so."

"Ok. No, I was thinking this time."

* * *

_A few years earlier. _

"_Christmas, Christmas, Christmas!" Rory bounced on the bed in the diner apartment, laughing. "Get up, Grinch."_

"_No." Jess mumbled, pulling her down, his arms wrapped tightly around her. "Evil plan succeeded. Now you can't leave the bed either."_

"_Jess!" Rory tried to escape, laughing too hard to actually be able to fight him off. "Mean." She placed a kiss on his lips when she calmed down. _

"_Still not letting you go."_

_Curling up closer to him, Rory smiled contently when he kissed the top of her head. "I like Christmas."_

"_I know."_

"_Do you know that enough to let me get out of bed and find presents?"_

"_No." He smirked, hugging her closer. "No getting out of bed. I asked Santa for a week of being in bed with you."_

"_Maybe you've just been naughty all year." _

"_I probably have." He chuckled, flipping her over quickly, propping himself up on his arms above her. "What are you going to do about it?"_

"_Jess, come on. Mom's waiting downstairs. She's going to barge in if I don't join her for breakfast soon."_

"_I locked the door."_

"_Luke has another set of keys."_

"_Left the key in the door. Not that stupid." He chuckled, kissing her softly. "You're supposed to get presents on Christmas morning, isn't that how it works?"_

"_Ok, then let me get your presents." She tried to escape, still laughing. _

"_It's ok, you don't have to get out of bed for that. Or, you know, we can, if that's what…"_

"_Jess!" Slapping his chest, she weaseled out from under him, jumping out of bed, her hands on her hips. "I'm getting dressed and going downstairs. We have to be at Lane's soon or we won't get to see the twins opening their presents. Then there's Liz, because she made me promise I'll drag you there so you can spend some time with her and Doula without everyone else there and then we have to get ready for dinner." _

"_Breathe."_

"_Can't, I'm excited!" She clapped her hands, laughing. "It's Christmas!" _

"_I know." Standing up, he tangled their fingers together, placing a soft kiss on her lips. "Merry Christmas, Ror." _

"_Merry Christmas." _

"_Close your eyes for a second."_

"_So you can drag me back to bed? No way, mister." _

"_Ror?" _

"_Fine." She sighed, determined to not let him move her. After a bit of rustling, he kissed her. _

"_Open 'em." Handing her a small package, he shrugged, smiling at the same time. "I already said merry Christmas."_

"_Jess, we weren't supposed to be doing presents until later."_

"_I didn't want everyone there when I gave you this. Open it." He instructed and she bit her lip, ripping the paper away. Opening the small box, she saw a necklace and bit her lip, looking back at Jess._

"_Jess, this isn't silly."_

"_I didn't know it was a requirement for presents to be." _

"_This is beautiful." She ignored him, glancing back at the necklace. _

"_I love you, Ror."_

"_I love you too." She whispered back, kissing him. "Thank you." Taking the necklace out of the box, she looked at him and Jess nodded, motioning for her to turn around. "Looks good?" She asked when she turned around to face him again, anxious._

"_You're beautiful."_

"_The necklace, silly."_

"_Don't really care about the necklace." _

* * *

"And then you proceeded to drag me to every single damn thing on your list, without any concern for my anti-social heart." Jess' voice pulled her out of her reverie, as he placed a kiss on her cheek, handing her a coffee cup. "Can we finish watching the movie now?"

"Listen to that, baby, your dad is whining about me forcing him to make a very important decision about your upbringing because he wants to watch a movie instead."

"No, your dad just does not care about flipping Santa Claus." He laughed, flicking his thumb over her stomach. "Or the Easter bunny." He added preemptively and Rory laughed.

"Fine then, go watch your movie."

"You're going to go find that stupid trinket, aren't you?"

"It's not a trinket and yes, I am. I'll be back in a minute."

"The movie…?"

"You can finish watching it." She shot as she started walking up the stairs. Shaking his head, Jess chuckled to himself before heading back to the living room, starting the movie again.

* * *

Walking into the nursery half an hour later, Jess found his wife sitting in the rocking chair, reading out loud.

"_A Christmas Carol_? Seriously?"

"I'm in a Christmasy mood."

"You're in a crazy mood." He smirked, walking to her and pulling the footstool closer, sitting down in front of her.

"Sh, Marley's ghost just appeared."

"Let me spoil it for you. They all live happily ever after. Well, except for Marley. He's dead."

"Scrooge."

"Thought I was the Grinch."

"You're not green. And I'm pretty sure I alternate between those two."

"Probably." He shrugged, lifting his shoulders. "Thank you."

"What for?"

"Not hating me because of the holiday grumpiness. I know you don't like it, but you put up with it."

"You don't have to wear a snowman sweater. Plus, I knew very well what I was getting into when I started dating you."

"I take you in sickness and in health, despite knowing you grumble your way through the holidays and try to drown your sorrows in the always too damn weak eggnog and hide in the kitchen?"

"Something like that." She leaned forward, running her fingers through his hair. "I hear that's what real relationships are supposed to be all about."

"Something like that, anyway." He nudged her knee with his, smiling. "Promise you won't let me infect the kid with my mood. I want her to be like you, not me."

"Why?" Rory ruffled his hair again. "I like you."

"Nah, she should to believe in Santa and magic."

"Your daughter? She'll be a smart-ass that tries to argue with everyone that it's not possible for Santa's reindeer to be male, because male reindeer lose their horns in the fall."

"I'm just saying, if you're going to lie to kids, lie accurately."

Rolling her eyes, Rory laughed, dropping the book in her lap on the table and moving to the edge of the seat. "Smart ass."

"Thanks, I try."

"So we're going to lie accurately?"

"We're going to lie." He shrugged, chuckling. "No use going against the entire commercialized world just because I'm stubborn."

"Good. Also, sometimes you remind me too much of Luke. Just for the record."

"Sometimes, your mom is really mean to me, Brett."

"Oh, poor you." Rory picked up his hand, placing a small kiss on his palm. "Is it bedtime yet?"

"Yeah, it is." He nodded, standing up and extending his hands, helping her up. "I love you, Ror." He whispered in her ear, wrapping his arm around her waist as they started heading out of the room.

"Love you too, Grinch."


	53. A bit of everything

**A/N: Thank you for the reviews, you're all so great.**

* * *

**A bit of everything**

"How are you feeling, Rory?" Emily asked Friday evening, everyone gathered in Gilmore mansion's living room.

"Good. Trying not to freak out since I've officially hit the third trimester according to most books."

"There is nothing to freak out about."

"My brain doesn't think so." She laughed.

"Chest bursters?" Lorelai mouthed, looking at Jess and he confirmed with one quick nod.

"What was that, Lorelai?"

"Nothing, mom." She smiled sweetly, sipping from her Martini.

"Good evening, everyone." Richard called, walking in the room. "What did I miss?"

"Nothing, grandpa." Standing up, Rory hugged the man quickly. "Hey."

"Rory, you look wonderful."

"Thanks. I'd argue with you about that…"

"But it would be pointless." The man shook his head, smiling.

"Then I won't complain about being fat." She grinned, sitting back down next to Jess.

Trying to stop himself from groaning, Jess picked up his glass again, making Lorelai laugh when she saw his expression.

"What's so humorous, Lorelai?" Emily looked at her daughter again.

"Just…remembering something that happened at the inn today. Michel was being Michel, I won't bore you with it."

"That's a first." Shaking her head, the woman focused her attention on her granddaughter again. "About your baby shower."

"Yes, grandma."

"The planner…"

"Planner?" Rory groaned, rolling her eyes.

"Yes. Tweeny Halpurn tried to take over the planning so of course someone had to step in and hire a professional."

"Of course."

"Anyway, she needs your guest list by the end of the week." Emily continued, ignoring the sarcasm in the younger woman's voice.

"Guest list?"

"Do you want me to explain the concept to you?"

"No, grandma." She groaned again. "Just curios what you need from me. I thought this shower was for the DAR ladies."

"I assumed you'd want some of your friends there."

"I'm good." She reassured the woman. "As long as mom's there." She looked at her mother, a sweet smile on her lips and Lorelai glared back at her.

"Sure. 'Cause giving you life was not enough of a favor. Anything else you need?"

"I'll let you know." Rory laughed.

"Lorelai, if you're going to be there, you have to act your age. These women are my friends."

"You've been indoctrinating me with the rules of proper behavior since I was born. I think I can remember how to behave for an afternoon."

"Remember? Yes. Actually do it? That's a different question."

"Hey, is dinner going to be ready any time soon? 'Cause I'm starving!" Lorelai changed the subject quickly, trying to avoid the fight.

* * *

"Please don't make me go! Please, please, please!" Lorelai pouted later that night as the two women were sitting in the diner, cups of coffee in front of them. "What have I ever done to you?"

"Where do you want me to start?" Rory grinned, sipping from her mug. "I don't want to be alone with grandma and her friends. I need you."

"But you like them! You're in the DAR with them. They're all going to gang up on me again about joining."

"No one is going to do anything to you. You're only coming for moral support. And for the food, there's always good food at DAR things."

"Fancy good food. You should not have mushrooms at a baby shower. Or deviled eggs or mini quiches or any of that crap."

"Not unless you need something to throw at my car, right?" Jess chimed in, dropping two slices of pie on the table.

"I have no idea what you're talking about." Lorelai feigned shock.

"Sure. You don't." Placing a small kiss on Rory's head, he smiled. "I'll be upstairs when you're done."

"Ok." She brushed her finger over his hand, smiling back at him.

"So we've agreed I can not go, right?"

"No. You can't miss my baby shower, it's against the rules. You'd have to hand in your best mother in the world card."

"It's ok, I have another kid now, you don't have to love any more." Lorelai joked, picking up her fork. "Plus, I'm not missing your other baby shower, so that's got to let me keep some points."

"Wait, other shower?"

"You didn't actually think the people in this town, the same people who organized you a going away party in less than a day were going to let this occasion pass without celebrating it, did you?"

"Oh, God." She mumbled, shaking her head. "You're serious?"

"There's been mumblings for quite some time but it was decided yesterday at the town meeting. I don't know anything more yet, other than it will be epic."

"Great." Rory replied sarcastically, taking a bit out her pie. "Do you know what date this is going to be?"

"Nope. I'll let you know as soon as I find out."

"Thanks."

* * *

"Aunt Rory! You're here!" The two young boys yelped the next afternoon, running to her at the same time and wrapping their hands around her.

"Of course I'm here, there's a party. I'm not going to miss a good party."

"It's my birthday today!" Steve announced, looking up at her.

"Hey, it's my birthday too!" Kwan stuck out his tongue at his twin brother.

"Oh, does this mean I was supposed to get you presents?" She teased the boys, ruffling their hair.

"We got presents already!" Kwan grinned, pointing at the pile of presents on a picnic table. "Mom and dad got us new clothes and mom even let me play on her drums…"

"Dad's gonna teach me how to play the guitar!" Steve interrupted, grinning as well.

"And grandma got us tickets to go to Bible camp this summer." Looking at Lane, who was watching the three, Rory saw her roll her eyes at the mention of Bible camp and tried to stifle her giggles.

"Do you two ever breathe?" Rory teased the boys, smiling.

"Yes!" They replied in unison, making her laugh.

"Is this making you wish you stayed far away from the thought of having kids of your own?" Lane chuckled, looking at Jess who was also watching the scene.

"This is." He tilted his head down, looking at his younger sister that had been hugging him since he'd stepped foot on the lawn.

"Hey, you two are popular."

"Yeah, I know." Putting on a fake smile, he detached Doula's hands from around him, leaning down to be at her eye level. "Why don't you go hug Rory as well?"

"Ok." The girl nodded before bouncing off. Letting out a relieved sigh, Jess straightened up again.

"You're so whipped." Lane laughed.

"Thanks for the input."

"Anytime."

"I've been taken hostage." Rory grinned a few seconds later, looking at the two girls that were holding her hands.

"Doula, Vivian, why don't you go grab something to eat before the boys finish everything?" Lane offered the girls and they nodded, letting go of Rory and skipping away.

"You're good."

"I wrangle the monkeys every day, I'm used to it by now."

"I can't believe they're six already!" Rory gushed, looking at Lane. "How are you holding up?"

"I'm good. Been better." Looking at her best friend, the young woman laughed. "I'm a wreck."

"Knew it!"

"My babies are so big! I'm not ready for this."

"You're doing a great job with them, Lane."

"Making it up as I go along." She laughed, wiping the corner of her eye quickly. Noticing Zack motioning for her, she smiled. "Sorry, I got to go see what's wrong."

"Go." Rory smiled at her best friend.

"Hey." Jess appeared at her side again, wrapping his arm around her and placing a quick kiss on her shoulder. "Any pain?"

"No. Stop worrying."

"Never." He smirked, running his knuckles down her bump.

"Hey, guys." Lorelai greeted, walking out of the house, holding Will in her arms. "When did you get here?"

"A few minutes ago. How's my baby brother?" She cooed over the baby, making a face at him, trying to get him to laugh.

"Getting too big. Soon he won't be my baby anymore either."

"Mom…"

"You have to keep having kids so I can have babies around without having to give birth to them!" Lorelai grinned, kissing her son's cheek at the same time.

"Sure. Just remember we'll need around twenty thousand dollars a year for each of them. I'll let you know how much college is when we get there. And private school. I may have to look into that."

"On second thought, how about you ignore me?"

"Sounds good." She smiled, rubbing her bump. Noticing Jess was gone, she looked around, finally spotting him on one of the chairs, a desperate look on his face as the kids were all talking at him at the same time.

"I'm going to have to go rescue my husband. Be back in a bit."

"Don't get captured too!" Lorelai laughed, hugging Will closer.

* * *

"Did you see my tooth?" Doula bounced up to Rory, opening her mouth and pointing at the gap in her teeth.

"Oh, wow! When did that happen?"

"Yesterday! And the Tooth Fairy came last night and left me a dollar!"

"What are you going to do with it?"

"Buy chocolate!"

"Good plan."

"How's the baby?" Doula looked at Rory's stomach. "Is she still in there?"

"Yes."

"When's she gonna be born?"

"July."

"Why does it take so long?"

"Because she's only about the size of a teddy bear right now, she has to get bigger before she can come outside. She'd be sick if she was born now."

"So this means that if she's in your tummy until next year, she'll be really, really big and healthy?"

Laughing, Rory shook her head. "No. She can only stay in there until July."

"Why?"

"Because if she stays in there too long, she won't be healthy any more. And I'll kick out, by force if I have to."

"Ok." The young girl nodded, smiling. "Can you play with us?"

"I'm a bit tired, I'll just it here and watch you, ok?"

"Ok!" She laughed, jumping off the bench and waving goodbye to Rory before she started running towards the other kids.

* * *

Crashing on the couch in the diner apartment later that afternoon, Rory and Jess looked at each other, exhausted looks on both their faces.

"So…we should have thought this kid thing through, shouldn't we?"

"I believe so." Jess smirked, nodding. "Can we lock Brett in her room so she never has any friends and we don't have to deal with birthday parties?"

"Yes, please." Rory leaned her head back, resting it against the couch. "You were so great with them, though." She twisted her head to the side, looking at him as she lifted her hand and ran her fingers down his cheek.

"Nah, I gave them each twenty dollars to act happy." He smirked, catching her hand and kissing her.

"You know that there are now pictures of you playing hide and seek, right?"

"I'm trying to forget."

"It's ok, I'll put them on the fridge as soon as Zack emails them."

"Great."

"Your dad still thinks sarcasm is attractive." She placed her hand on her bump, looking down at it.

"You love my sarcasm." He pointed out, leaning over and kissing her.

"I have the misfortune of loving everything about you." Rory teased back, running her fingers through his hair. "I'm still waiting for the day when I stop finding all your annoying habits cute."

"When am I ever annoying?"

"Never." She laughed, kissing him again.

"Good to know." Lifting his head he kissed her temple, smiling. "You should go to Lorelai's before she starts whining about not getting enough time with you."

"Probably. You'll be good?"

"Nah, I have a wild party planned in half hour. It's why I'm trying to get rid of you."

"Oh, ok, just call if you're going to be late, I don't want to have to worry about you." Rory laughed, kissing the corner of his mouth. "I love you."

"Love you too."

* * *

"Shower's on June 8th." Lorelai announced as Rory walked in her living room.

"Seriously? This town that debates for three months what shade of white they're going to paint the benches in the square made a decision in a day?"

"We act quick when it comes to important things."

"You act crazy. I don't need a baby shower." Rory tried to protest again, smiling. Suddenly grimacing, she placed her hand on her bump, closing her eyes.

"Cramp?" Lorelai asked, a worried edge in her voice and she nodded.

"Please be a good mother and tell me real labor isn't worse than this."

"While being honest?" The older woman laughed, rubbing Rory's arm. "It's ok. It's all worth it in the end."

"Yeah, I keep thinking of that. I just really wish someone had taken care of the whole pain issue by now." Rubbing her bump again, she smiled at it. "Calm down, baby, it's ok."

"Oh, can I play?"

"Sure." Rory grinned, taking Lorelai's hand and placing it on her stomach. "Say 'hi' to grandma, Brett."

"Hey, baby." Lorelai squeaked in a high-pitched voice before looking at her daughter. "What? I'm not interfering with her language development now or whatever, I can baby talk all I want."

"I do it constantly." She shrugged, laughing. "Mostly to drive Jess mad."

"How's he doing?"

"He's started calling or texting while I'm at work to make sure I drink enough water after I had a really bad contraction one night."

"And you melt every time he does it."

"Yes." She admitted, biting her lip as her mother moved her hand away, picking up her coffee cup. "It's ridiculous yet I can't help but love him even more for it."

"Oh, I'm so…"

"No. You may not mock him." She interrupted her mother, laughing. "Bad."

"But…"

"Bad!"

"Spoilsport." Lorelai pouted, picking up her coffee cup. "Ok, going back to the shower, do you have any requests?"

"Not really."

"You know saying that means you just gave us permission to go full on crazy with this, right? Taylor's thinking of getting a band."

"You're not…you are serious, aren't you?"

"Oh, yeah. I'll intervene before they proclaim it a local holiday though. Maybe."

"Mom…"

"Who am I to stand in the way of people deciding we can all not work for a day and just have a party instead?"

"No band!" Rory threatened, shaking her head while laughing. "I have to draw some lines."

"You really are a spoilsport." The older woman pouted, picking up the phone. "Al's?"

"Sure."

* * *

Walking into the diner, Jess picked up a couple of empty mugs from a table, dropping them on the counter.

"What's up?" Luke looked up from the receipts he was organizing next to the register.

"Nothing. Just got bored of watching TV and figured you could use some help closing up."

"Knock yourself out." Luke threw a rag at him before going back to his receipts. "How are you doing?" He asked after a few minutes of silence and Jess looked up from the table he was wiping.

"What?"

"With Rory and the baby and everything."

"All's good."

"You sure?"

"Yeah. Why?"

"Just checking. Third trimester was about the time I started panicking when Lorelai was pregnant."

"You panicked? Is that even possible?" Jess smirked, looking at his uncle. "I always thought you only had two modes:calm and raging. The latter usually caused by Taylor."

"You're very good at making me angry too, don't sell yourself short." Luke chuckled. "So you're fine?"

"I'm fine." Jess confirmed, nodding.

"You sure?"

"Yes." He nodded again, trying to stop himself from laughing. "I'm not entirely calm, but I don't need a paper bag just yet."

"Ok. If you need someone to talk to…"

"Whatever." Jess smirked, shaking his head. "Last time I help close up the diner, if this is what I get for it."

"Smartass." Luke mumbled back, smiling.

"So…any advice?" Jess asked after a few minutes, his eyes focused on the table he was wiping.

"About?"

"Anything you can think of. It's not like I have any experience at being someone's father."

"Spend as much time with your kid as you can."

"Anything less obvious?"

"Not really."

"Thanks, that was a lot of help." Jess chuckled, shaking his head.

"You'll do fine, Jess. And I wouldn't be telling you that if I didn't believe it."

"Thanks." The younger man smiled, picking up a chair and flipping it over.


	54. Housewarming presents

**A/N: Thank you for the reviews, everyone. (And sorry about the delays, I went from exam time to writing my dissertation time. Eeek!).**

**

* * *

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** Housewarming presents**

"What about Monica?" Rory walked in the kitchen, kissing Jess' shoulder. "Or Rachel?"

"No and no. No to Phoebe as well."

"Wait, we couldn't use Rachel anyway."

"Why?"

"It's Luke's ex girlfriend's name. I doubt mom would love me too much if we used it. Oh, Remy?"

"What?"

"There was a rerun of _House_ on earlier."

"No." Jess shook his head. "And I thought I'd told you no more medical shows after last week."

"Don't worry, I checked before I watched it, there were no sick babies in that one."

"Good. I don't like coming home to you crying."

"Then you should quit your job and sit around the house all day so you can make sure I'm never alone and watch sad things." She smiled, picking up a carrot from the chopping board and starting to chew on it. "I swear though, the doctor they had in that episode looked so much like Lane it was crazy."

"Uh-huh."

"Fine, don't believe me. See if I care." She stuck out her tongue, laughing.

"Ror, I'm not allowed to have an opinion since I'm not allowed to watch the show any more. Not that I was a huge fan to being with."

"That's because you think Thirteen's hot and then I get silly."

"I think you're hotter." Jess smirked, leaning in and kissing her cheek.

"Not the point. I still don't like you liking other women."

"But she's on TV. I'd get it if we were talking about a real person but an actress…?"

"That's why it's silly."

"But you and your mother having half an hour long debates on how hot George Clooney is?"

"That's fine. We're making up for centuries of women's suppression."

"Right. My bad." Jess laughed, shaking his head. "I do however find it amusing that you don't like me finding Thirteen attractive, but naming our daughter after her is perfectly fine with your silly brain."

"That's different. I'm not entirely sure how, but it is." She giggled as well, shrugging. "Poor baby, your parents are crazy."

"Hey, I'm offended. I'm perfectly sane."

"Yet you voluntarily married me and work with Matt and Chris. Sane. That's what we're calling it these days."

"I make bad choices, but I'm sane." He smirked, kissing her quickly while his hand ran down her stomach. "And stop telling the kid otherwise, she'll believe you and then we'll be in trouble."

"We're already in trouble." She smiled back, placing another kiss on his lips. "You were making me dinner."

"Yes, I was. Now I'm not." He pressed her back against the counter, cupping her face in his hands. "Now I'm trying to distract you."

"But I'm hungry."

"Huh." He started tracing kisses down her neck. "How hungry?"

"Not that hungry." Rory laughed, circling his neck with her arms. Hearing her phone ring a few minutes later, she sighed, pouting. "I should get that."

"No, you shouldn't. You should let me continue to distract you."

"It could be important."

"It's probably not going to be."

"You're right." She smiled, running her fingers across his back. "They're insistent."

"Then it's probably your mother. Or your grandmother. Both of whom would be a buzz kill."

"And the phone constantly ringing?"

"Ignorable." Sighing when the phone kept ringing, Jess stepped away from her, placing one more kiss on her cheek. "Maybe not so much. Go answer while I work my way through the list of bad, bad words I know."

"While making dinner?"

"Yes."

Ruffling his hair, Rory stepped into the hallway, picking up her phone from the table.

"Hey, grandpa." She smiled, leaning against the kitchen table again, watching Jess as he started chopping the vegetables again.

"_Hello, Rory."_

"Sorry it took so long to answer, I couldn't find my phone." She lied, blushing slightly.

"_Oh, it's fine."_

"What's up?"

"_I was just wondering if you're doing anything this Saturday."_

"Not that I know of, why?"

"_I'm coming to Philadelphia on Friday for business and a couple of old friends and I arranged to meet for dinner on Saturday night, giving me just enough time to take you and Jess out for lunch."_

"Grandpa, you don't have to see us just because you're in Philadelphia. Don't add too much to your schedule."

"_I'm sure even my doctor would agree that having lunch with my granddaughter and her husband isn't a particularly strenuous activity."_

"Ok, but I will need to see the doctor's note." She joked, making the man laugh. "If you can swing it time-wise, we'd love for you to come see our house."

"_I'm sure I can fit that in somewhere." _

"You're welcomed to our spare room, but there isn't any furniture in it, so that probably won't help much."

"_Oh, don't worry about it. _

"You sure? Because I could figure som…"

"_Rory, I'm fine."_

"Ok." She nodded, smiling.

"_Good. I'll let you go then and I'll see you both on Saturday. Say hello to Jess for me."_

"Will do. Say hi to grandma."

"_Of course."_

"Good bye, grandpa."

"_Bye."_

Hanging up the phone, she put it back on the table, walking to Jess and ruffling his hair. "Grandpa says hi."

"Ok. What was that about?"

"He's coming to town on business and wants to have lunch with us on Saturday."

"Huh."

"What? I though you liked him." She moved away and he twisted his head to look at her.

"I do. I'm just wondering how you haven't realized yet that the second your grandmother finds out about this, she'll decide to come along."

"…Crap." Rory sighed after a few seconds of silence, laughing. "This means that…"

"We have five days to get this place white glove clean."

"More like four." Kissing him quickly, she ran her hand over his back. "It's ok, you don't have to do anything."

"You, pregnant." Jess looked at her stomach, smirking.

"You, overprotective." She stuck out her tongue.

"Me, helping."

"Ok, Tarzan. Whatever you want." Rory laughed before kissing him again.

* * *

"Grandma's coming as well." Rory sighed, sitting on the couch Tuesday night. "She called this afternoon and mentioned it."

"Huh. I'm shocked."

"You may say you told me so." She smiled, kissing him. "Could be worse, they could be staying here."

"That would be worse. Much, much worse. You're sure they're not?"

"Yes. She said their hotel isn't too far away from here." She nodded reassuringly. "I'm sorry about this."

"It's ok. You'll be the one dealing with them, I'll just sigh stoically through it."

"You can even pretend to be busy that morning at work so that you're spared the tour and the coffee and whatever else."

"Very self-sacrificing of you."

"Jess, they're my family. You put up with them more than enough as it is."

"You put up with me."

"You're amazing, it's not that hard."

"Nice. Are you feeling guilty over your grandparents' visit or did I just happen to be around in the 30 seconds you're on the sappy end of your emotional range?"

"You're a jerk." She slapped his back, sticking out her tongue.

"You change your mind every other minute whether or not you love me."

"I always love you, I just can't stand you at times."

"Oh, I apologize."

"And anyway, you got me pregnant, you have to suffer the mood-swings. I've been telling you that for months, you'd think it would have gotten through that thick skull of yours." She pointed out as he kissed her quickly. "Am I not nice enough to you? Do you want me to try harder? Because I really don't mean to be…"

"Ror, it was a joke."

"Sorry. I'm stressed about grandma coming." She shrugged, lying back against the couch. "And I can't even clean properly since I need to make sure Brett only has one head or something."

"But you're ruining her circus freak career."

"You're silly."

"What, she could start making money right away instead of having to wait until she grows up. She could support us."

"I'm going to stop listening to you now." Rory laughed, looking at the door. "I'm going to go dust upstairs."

"Does this mean I need to start cleaning?"

"Can you do the windows?"

"Sure."

"Do you hate me?"

"I'm not cooking all week."

"OK." She nodded, waiting for him to stand up before extending her arms. "Help the whale."

"Buckets of water until we can get you back in the ocean?" He smirked, taking her hands.

"Hilarious, that's what you are."

"Oh, I know."

* * *

"Hey!" Rory greeted her grandparents on Saturday morning, stepping aside to let them in the house. "Come in."

"It's good to see you, Rory."

"You too." She hugged her grandparents quickly while Jess watched, trying not to let his discomfort show. "Through here." She pointed to the living room, letting the older couple walk ahead before taking Jess' hand and following them. "Can I get you some coffee or something?"

"Coffee sounds good, thank you." Emily smiled at her granddaughter, looking around the room.

"Grandpa?"

"Yes, coffee does sound very good." The man agreed and Rory tried to move but Jess stopped her, a slight shake of his head.

"I'll get it, you stay here."

"Thanks." Turning back to look at her grandparents, she smiled again. "You want the tour while we wait? I did invite you over to see the place and, while showing a picture slideshow could be a suitable alternative, we can just go for the live action version." She finished with a grin and Emily nodded, still smiling.

"The tour would be lovely, Rory."

"Ok. So…this is the living room." Rory laughed. "The yard's through here."

* * *

"And this is the baby's room." Rory finished the tour, leading her grandmother in the room. "We were going to leave it pink but I'm starting to change my mind. Not sure. Maybe. Thinking about." She rambled, standing next to the crib. "I can't even make up my mind on bedding for the poor kid, I doubt we're going to make any progress with the walls any time soon."

"I'm sure whatever you chose will look good, Rory." Emily smiled, looking around the room.

"Aw, thanks."

"The crib isn't as bad as you made it sound either."

"Thanks." She replied again, this time sarcastically. "Do you want to go steal grandpa away from the books and finally have that cup of coffee that I promised you eons ago?"

"That sounds fine."

"Let's go." She lead Emily downstairs, tilting her head towards the living room when they got there. "Go have a seat, I'll be there in a minute."

Nodding once, the woman headed for the room and Rory walked in the office, finding her grandfather standing in front of the bookshelves, looking at the books.

"Having fun?"

"Your book collection is quite impressive, Rory." The man took his glasses off, after putting the book in his hand back on the shelf.

"Having a husband that publishes books helps with that particular addiction." She smiled. "I'd offer to loan you whatever you wanted, but I've seen your books. I know you have most of these."

"I appreciate the thought." Picking up one of the books, he looked at it before looking back at Rory. "I've never seen his one though. I realize I'm old, but I don't think I'm that easily offended by literature that neither you or Jess wanted to tell me about some of the books he writes."

"Oh…" Blushing, Rory bit her lip, looking at the book. "That wasn't really…I mean…it's nothing. Just something Jess wrote for me and then put it in book form. It was never sold or anything."

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to intrude in your personal things."

"Don't worry about it. I promise I'll tell you about anything else he writes. I like to brag about him." She smiled affectionately, unconsciously rubbing her wedding ring with her thumb. "Coffee's ready." She looked at the door and the man nodded.

"And Emily and Jess have been left alone for long enough?"

"That may be my biggest concern." Rory giggled before walking out of the room, Richard following behind her.

* * *

"Christ, your grandmother is exhausting." Jess sighed, rubbing his temples. "I think she set a new record for passive aggressive jabs an hour."

"She was in fine form." Rory agreed.

"Did she say anything about the spare room?"

"No." She shook her head. "It wasn't anything more than a quick look, so hopefully she won't focus too much on it. And I did end the tour with Brett's room, so she could have something else to think about."

"Lorelai will be proud of you."

"I learned everything from her." Rory smiled, running her hand down his leg. "Did I apologize enough to you?"

"No." He smirked, looking at her. "Get naked, really make it up to me."

"Who says romance is dead?" She rolled her eyes, trying not to laugh and Jess leaned closer, cupping her face in his hand and placing a quick kiss on her lips.

"Well, you know, I try my best."

"Yes, you do." Placing a kiss on his palm, she smiled, glancing at the door. "You want me to go make you coffee or something?"

"You're feeling that guilty?"

"Oh, you have no idea. You could probably get away with getting me to do anything you wanted for the next few days. She wasn't very nice to you."

"She never is. And just how exactly are we defining this 'anything'?"

"Anything." She smiled, biting his lip gently.

"Huh. They should come visit more often." Jess smirked, resting his hand on the back of her neck, holding her place as he covered her mouth with his.

* * *

"I am so, so sorry." Rory stepped in front of Jess as he walked in the house on Monday afternoon. "So sorry. And I didn't know anything about it until they called and then I tried to stop her but I couldn't and I am sorry and please don't divorce me."

"Stop." He put his hands on her arms, stopping her monologue. "I'm going to need more details here."

"Before you decide if you're divorcing me?"

"I'm pretty sure I'm not divorcing you."

"Only pretty sure?"

"Ror, focus."

"Just remember you love me and I am not to be held responsible for my crazy family." Taking his hand, she started leading him up the stairs. Standing in front of the door to the spare room, she looked at him, mouthing _"Sorry"_ before closing her eyes and opening the door to a now fully furnished room.

"Your grandmother?"

"Uh-huh. The delivery guys called while I was at work and they really wouldn't take no for an answer.."

* * *

"_Grandma, you can't buy us furniture!"_

"_You're supposed to greet the other person when they pick up the phone."_

"_Hello. You cannot buy us furniture!" She repeated, still angry. _

"_You can exchange it if you don't like it. I can arrange to have someone pick it up."_

"_I haven't even seen it yet, I'm still at work. It's not about the furniture itself, it's about the gesture."_

"_What about it?" Emily asked. _

"_It's our house. Mine and Jess's. It's our responsibility to furnish it, not yours."_

"_So people are not supposed to buy their loved one presents? Housewarming presents are nothing new, Rory."_

"_Then get us a plant, not a bed!"_

"_You didn't seem to mind it in college."_

"_That was different. You were paying for Yale, I couldn't say no."_

"_Oh, so you did me the favor of letting me spend thousands of dollars on your furniture."_

"_Grandma, that's not what I meant." Rory rolled her eyes in frustration._

"_What did you mean?"_

"_Just that that was a different situation." She sighed, shaking her head. "I have a job. So does Jess. We can afford to buy all this stuff for ourselves now."_

"_No one is doubting that. I just wanted to do something nice for you." _

"_A new set of towels is something nice. Furniture is over the top."_

"_You got plenty of towels at your wedding."_

"_I'd mention the plant again but it seems pointless."_

"_I just don't understand what's so horrible about me trying to make sure you and Jess don't uselessly waste money that you could be saving for your daughter."_

"_Grandma, I didn't say it's horrible."_

"_So why am I not allowed to do this for both of you?"_

"_Fine. Whatever." Rory conceded, starting to feel guilty._

"_Good. I'll see you Friday night." Emily announced before hanging up the phone, leaving her granddaughter staring dumfounded at the computer screen._

* * *

"And then your mother mocked you falling into that one?" Jess remarked as soon as Rory finished her story, smirking.

"Oh, yeah. One of the many things grandma is great at is guilt tripping everyone until they feel like dirt for even bringing it up in the first place."

"At least you tried." Jess kissed her cheek, shrugging. "Fuck it, at least we don't have to buy it now." He sat down on the edge of the bed and Rory walked to him, running her fingers through his hair.

"You're not mad?"

"I'm surprised it took her this long to start ignoring us on this. I don't like it, but it's done and I don't have the energy to fight it."

"But you said they're not allowed near this place because they would do this. Jess, I can fight with her over this on Friday. I'm sure I could get through to her in person."

"I'm sure you couldn't, but that's beside the point. Seriously, screw it, it's a spare room, I don't care."

"Promise."

"Your mother is unbelievably frustrating at times, kid." Jess smirked, kissing her bump. "Promise. I don't care." He repeated, shrugging.

"At least now mom has furniture if we want her to come help with the baby after she's born."

"Your mother's staying with us?"

"No. She just offered. I said no."

"Ok. She can though. If you want her to."

"No." Rory shook her head, smiling. "I think we need to learn how to do everything by ourselves. But I reserve the right to have a breakdown in the middle of the fifth sleepless night in a row and call mom over to help."

"Sounds fair." He smirked, nodding. "So, you know how you were doing anything to make it up to me for your grandmother's visit?"

"Yes."

"Can I suggest messing up this nice bed of hers as part of that?"

"Only because I owe you."

"I don't really care about your justifications." He smirked, pulling her down on the bed next to him.


	55. All important issues

**A/N: Virtual chocolate bribes for reviews? You know you want to ;). **

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**All important issues**

"What are you doing up?" Jess sighed, walking into the living room and sitting on the couch next to her.

"Me? What are _you _doing up?" Rory smiled, curling up next to him, lowering the sound on the TV.

"Woke up, saw you weren't in bed, came looking for you."

"Sap."

"Just…concerned." He smiled, kissing the top of her head. "So?"

"The kid's taken to waking me up at 6 AM by doing her exercise routine. I have coffee and watch the news while she does her thing." Taking his hand, she placed it on her stomach, moving the headphones away. "I like giving her something to listen to while she stretches around." She shrugged at Jess' questioning look.

"And she doesn't hear the news?"

"Ok, maybe it's about that as well." Rory laughed softly, shaking her head. "I'll give you your music back in a minute, kid, just say hello to your dad first."

"My most sincere apologies for having disturbed you." Jess smirked, looking at the bump before moving the headphones back on. "Still _Clash_?"

"I think she likes it." Rory nodded and he kissed the top of her head.

"She better. I'm abandoning her on some church steps if she doesn't."

"Of course you are."

"I find your lack of faith disturbing." He smirked, hugging her closer to him. "When did this start?"

"What?"

"Her exercising sessions."

"A week or so ago."

"Didn't I drum it into your head enough that you're supposed to tell me things like this?"

"Sorry. I just didn't think you'd be interested in my waking hours."

"I like knowing things."

"Jess, it's nothing. You know I wake up early anyway, she's just giving me an extra incentive."

"You're crazy."

"Somehow it feels like I hear that from you every day."

"Huh. Wonder why that is." He smirked, placing a small kiss on her ear. "Your doctor's appointment is at 2 on Thursday, right?"

"It's just a check up, you don't have to be there."

"Speaking of repetitive, how many times are we going to have this conversation?"

"Fine." Rory drew out the word, laughing. Picking up her coffee cup, she offered it to him, twisting her head to look at him. "Want some?"

"You know it's love when a Gilmore offers to share her coffee." Jess shook his head, smiling. "I'll go get my own cup."

"But I don't want you to move, I'm comfortable."

"Then I'll wait until you're not." He kissed her forehead, hugging her again. "So…we're up to doctor visits every other week already?"

"I have no idea when the hell that happened."

"Language." He chuckled and Rory slapped his leg.

"She has music on, I won't ruin her."

"Oh, so I should take this opportunity to curse as much as possible?"

"Clearly." She laughed, resting her head on his shoulder. "Seriously though…are we ready for this?"

"Probably not." Jess admitted honestly.

"We still have so much stuff to figure out." She mumbled.

"So…should we try and decide now?"

"As good a time as any. Though you might need coffee as well."

"Yeah, I think I will." He stood up, picking up her half empty cup. "I'll top yours up too."

"You're perfect."

"I'm perfectly well trained." He smirked before leaving the room as Rory pulled a blanket over her legs, turning the TV off. "So?" Jess sighed, sitting back on the couch and handing her the full cup.

"I suppose now we talk about her." She looked down at her stomach, running her free hand over it. "We don't have to work everything out from now until she's out of the house, but a few things…"

"Should be decided now."

"Yes." She agreed. "How's the scheduling for Truncheon going?"

"We don't have anything major going on from July until October, I think."

"The guys agreed to that?"

"I think they were willing to close it down, if we wanted them to." He smiled, pushing a strand of hair away form her face. "Your work?"

"Twelve weeks off with pay."

"Starting?"

"July first, but my editor's aware of the situation and I have enough days saved to take off if she decides to come early."

"Huh, your insane work ethic really paid off." He laughed, shaking his head. "I had to threaten you with force to get you to stay home last time you were sick."

"I don't like missing work."

"You don't say." He smirked again, squeezing her hand. "That gives up until almost the end of September to get the hang of being parents. While preferably not killing her or each other in the process."

"Yes, while avoiding that." Rory giggled as well, leaning in and kissing him quickly. "What about after?"

"After…I don't know. What do you want to do?"

"I don't know either." She shrugged, biting her lip. "We really need to start looking at nurseries, if we decide to do that."

"Are we doing that?"

"I don't want to." Rory shook her head. "I've been thinking about it since we brought it up the first time and…I know it's completely ridiculous but I just don't want that life for her, if we can give her something that I think would be better."

"Ok." He nodded, a reassuring smile on his face. "We don't have to do anything you don't want to do."

"No, Jess, this has to be a joint call. We can't just drop her off at anyone, unless mom really follows to on her threat and moves to Philly so it would have to be one of us taking care of her."

"I know. I don't mind staying with her. At least on a very hypothetical, 'I've never actually been in charge of a baby for more than a couple of hours' sort of way."

"Are you sure?"

"I've been thinking about it." Jess shrugged. "I've talked about it with the guys as well and they're fine with me working from here most of the time instead of going to the office every day."

"Did they make Mr. Mom jokes?"

"Yeah." He smirked. "And then they decided that I should just bring her in with me wince I can't possibly be entrusted with a baby all by myself and they'd be so much better."

Laughing, Rory ruffled his hair. "You'll do just fine."

"You say that now. Wait until you come home to find out I've spent the afternoon reading _The Old Man and the Sea _ to her."

"It will bore her to sleep, so sure, why not?"

"Poor Hemingway. So not deserving of your insults."

"Stop defending him." She laughed, rolling her eyes.

"I think we're straying from the subject."

"That's because you're stubborn."

"Ror…"

"Oh, fine, let's talk about our daughter's future instead of your inability to discern what good literature is." Rory laughed, leaning over and kissing him before drinking from her coffee cup. "We are sending her to kindergarten though, right?"

"So nursery's bad but kindergarten's good?"

"She'll need to interact with other kids her age. Will's the closest she has, but he's all the way in Stars Hollow."

"Plus you met Lane in kindergarten so you're completely biased."

"Maybe." She grinned.

"And I can't say that I mind having a determined end in sight to my babysitter days."

"Jess, you really don't have to…"

"Joke." He smirked, shaking his head slightly. "I'll tell you if I change my mind."

"Any time you do. It won't make you any less super-dad."

"I don't have to wear some ridiculous outfit, do I?"

"Sorry, already put an order in for the tights and cape." She cupped his face in her hand, running her fingers across his skin. "I love you so much, Jess."

"I know. I love you too." He smiled, placing a kiss on her palm. "What next?"

"Grounding."

"Grounding? Seriously?" He laughed, shaking his head. "You really think that's something we have to worry about in the near future?"

"She's your daughter, everything's possible."

"Yes, what if she crawls out of the house to go a Teletubbies show?"

"If you're going to be silly, I'm turning on the news again." Rory laughed, rolling her eyes at the same time.

"Oh, I'm silly? You're the one that wants to talk about how we're going to ground out unborn daughter."

"Your point is?"

"I need more coffee." He smirked, standing up. "Come on, I'll make food and you can tell me all about our urgent need to determine how we're going to ground our kid."

"Oh, can you make French toast?"

"And bacon?"

"You're perfect!" Rory yelped, wrapping her arms around him. After helping her up, they both walked to the kitchen and she started making a new pot of coffee while Jess pulled things from the fridge.

"You were explaining grounding to me."

"I just think that if we can decide on things now, it will be much easier when she's old enough to actually need grounding." She smiled, kissing his shoulder.

"Feeds into your obsessive need to have a system for everything?"

"Don't say that like it's a bad thing."

"I'm not really sure it's not."

"No being mean to pregnant wife." Rory pouted.

"Never, dear."

"If you didn't have bacon in your hands, I'd kill you."

"Saved by my meat?"

Blushing furiously, Rory stared at the coffee machine and Jess walked to her, wrapping his arms around her from behind. "No playing coy now, you were the one practically ripping my clothes off the other night."

"I'm…uh…"

"Don't worry, I enjoyed it." He smirked, kissing her neck. "So grounding Brett?"

"I'm not really sure. I was never really grounded." She shrugged as he turned back to the other counter, starting to mix the eggs and milk in a bowl.

"You don't expect me to have any experience with this, do you?"

"I'm not an idiot."

"If you really want to have a system, I think she should get extra time for not telling us what the hell she did."

"What?" Rory looked at him, slightly confused.

"Let's say she sneaks into the house at three in the morning, right?"

"Why is our daughter out until three in the morning?"

"Because as far as I know she's related to me?"

"Think I can get you to give me that in writing? Because I would really like having some sort of official document in which you admit that you're to blame." She laughed, pushing his coffee mug next to the stove and kissing his shoulder at the same time.

"Don't get your hopes up."

"You sure?"

"Can I get back to my point?"

"Yes." Rory nodded, picking up her coffee cup and sitting down.

"Ok, so we catch her and she decides to be stubborn and not tell us what she's done. I think that should qualify as an extra period of probation."

"What is she, in jail?"

"So you're saying me that you'd take well her being out doing whatever?"

"Good point." She conceded. "How long?"

"Don't know."

"Let's say the maximum period that she could normally get grounded?"

"Which is…?"

"Six months?"

"You really want a sulky teenager around the house for six months?"

"One then?"

"What if she does something like, I don't know, jump on a bus to see a guy in New York without telling us about it?" He smirked, twisting his head to look at her and Rory laughed.

"I do something impulsive one time and I never hear the end of it."

"You've got to learn to accept consequences."

"Hey, you were the one that hadn't said goodbye. You made me do it."

"It's because you can't resist me, isn't it?"

"Yes. Absolutely impossible." Rory laughed. "How about three months then? Seem like a nice enough average."

"Three months sounds ok."

"So that's the most she can get if she tells us what she's done?"

"Yeah."

"I like that." Poking her stomach, she smiled at it. "Sorry, kid. You better behave." Looking back at Jess, she picked up her coffee cup again. "And if she doesn't tell us, it's three months plus whatever she would have gotten in the first place?"

"Uh-huh." He mumbled, flipping the bacon over. "She'll fucking hate us…"

"But I don't really care."

"Good to know." After a few seconds of silence, Jess turned around to look at her again, making sure the food wasn't going to burn. "Ror? Can I ask for a favor?"

"Anything you want." She pulled herself up using one of the counter before walking to him, cupping his face in her hands. "What is it?"

"When you two are the best friends in the whole world and whatever…fill me in about things, please? I'm not sure I won't change my mind, but I'd like to be aware if she's in love and stuff like that. Especially the other stuff that teenagers…you get my point, right?"

Kissing him gently, she ran her fingers through his hair. "Yes. And you're an idiot if you think you even have to ask me that. Of course I'd tell you."

"What if she asks you not to?"

"Then I'll make you guess. Play Pictionary or something." She smiled, kissing him again before letting go. "We're married, it's got to be somewhere in the rulebook that I can't keep secrets from you."

"But they're not your secrets. They're hers."

"So you wouldn't tell me if she talked to you instead of me?"

"I want to think I wouldn't. Not unless it was something serious."

"So is she gets a crush, it's between you two, but big bad things we battle together?"

"Why would she tell me if she had a crush?" Jess scoffed, flipping the bacon again.

"It was an example."

"I just don't like the idea of breaking her confidence."

"We keep small secrets but let the other one in on big things?"

"Yes." He nodded. "As long as she knows, when she's older, that that's the way things work."

"I'm sure she'll figure out by herself that we don't keep things from each other."

"Did I tell you about my other family in Pittsburgh?"

"Yes. It's ok, our former postman comes over when you're gone."

"Good, you have company." Jess smirked, pulling out two plates from a cupboard. "Can we stop talking about Brett being a teenager? This is depressing me."

"One more thing and then we're done."

"Shoot."

"All groundings must be decided by both of us."

"That's how they do it on TV."

"You realize we probably shouldn't base our views on two parent households on one too many reruns of _The Cosby Show_, right?" Rory laughed.

"Could be worse, we could be gauging them on _Roseanne_."

"On second thought, the Cosbys were fine. Now we can talk about diapers."

"Diapers? Really?" He smirked, putting the two plates on the table.

"I don't know, it was just the first baby thing that came to mind. Though we probably should leave stuff relating even indirectly to bodily functions for after food."

"I like that plan. What else?"

"You're seriously not done with the baby talk?" Rory looked at him, slightly surprised as she picked up a bit of toast with her fork.

"Since we just decided we're entrusting her to my care, I would prefer if we had everything settled. Seriously, give me a list."

"I think we're having a bit of a Freaky Friday moment here." Rory giggled. "Teenage Jess would be horrified."

"Teenage Jess was a jackass. I think 2.0 is a better version." He smirked, drinking from his coffee cup.

"I think they're both pretty awesome." She smiled lovingly, running her fingers down his cheek briefly. "Though 2.0 comes with extra perks, so I suppose it gets my vote as well."

"Maybe if I'm lucky, you might even decide to keep me."

"Of course I'm keeping you, you make perfectly crispy bacon."

"Yet again saved by…"

"Don't finish that." She glared at him and he smiled innocently, trying not to burst out laughing.

"I was going to say bacon. Seriously, Rory, mind out of the gutter for a minute here."

"Oh, I apologize for corrupting you."

"Don't forget our poor little daughter. I can't even…"

"I'm ignoring you now." She giggled, shaking her head. "What's next on the list?" She asked after a few seconds.

"I thought you were ignoring me."

"I got over it."

"You're really good at this being mad at me business, aren't you?"

"You want me to be?"

"Face it, it's impossible for you to not melt at my adorable self." Jess smiled, crouching in front of her, hands on her knees, ignoring his breakfast. "Don't even try to deny it." He smirked again, picking up her hand and kissing her palm and she smiled, running her fingers through his hair.

"I wasn't mad, I was just not talking to you because you were being silly."

"Well that was a flawed plan to begin with, it's not in your genes to shut up for longer than 2 seconds unless asleep or eating. I'm buying ear plugs as soon as she starts talking." He snickered, pointing at her stomach.

"Someone's got to make up for your taciturn self."

"Lucky I have you then." He smiled, pulling himself up and giving her a quick peck on the lips, before going back to his food. "Back to the kid issue?"

"I don't know, I think we're sort of settled. We've agreed that you're taking care of her, we've decided…"

"On the ever important issue of grounding?"

"I was going to say it in a less sarcastic tone, but yes." Rory grinned. "We'll improvise the rest. I mean…we're us. I don't think there's any sense in even bringing up any New Age child rearing crap."

"I will have to draw a line at reusable diapers." He made a face and she laughed. "No way, no how."

"I wasn't even going to suggest that. The concept freaks me out. Oh, private school!"

"How did you get to that from diapers?"

"My mind works in mysterious ways."

"I suppose that if she really, and I am stressing that word, wants to, then…fine. She can go."

"How generous of you."

"As long as I get to pick whichever one she goes to."

"Why?"

"So I can make sure the uniforms are decent. I remember what I wanted to do to you when you wore your uniform around the diner, I'm not letting her prance around in anything like that."

"Oh, but it was fine for me?"

"Of course it was." He smirked, cocking an eyebrow. "It would have been better if you'd let me do any of the things I wanted to…" He trailed off, suddenly less interested in food.

"Things?"

"Lots and lots of things." Jess pulled his chair closer to her, running his fingers up her leg as she closed her eyes. "I can demonstrate."

"Screw breakfast." Rory giggled, kissing him passionately.

* * *

Waking up later that night, Rory rolled over in bed only to find Jess awake, staring at the ceiling. Crawling next to him, she rested her head on his shoulder as he wrapped his arm around her.

"What's up?"

"Thinking."

"About this morning?"

"Yeah." He admitted, kissing the top of her head. "I'd just like to have some sort of reassurance that I'm not going to mess our kid up."

"You're not."

"You're biased."

"I'm your wife, of course I am. And then there's the whole silly loving you thing. It doesn't help me be impartial."

"Damn." He smirked, kissing her head again.

"Jess, if you don't want to do this, you don't have to."

"I didn't say I don't want to."

"I know. But I feel like I've pushed you into this." She sat up on the bed, leaning against the headboard and Jess did the same, his hand playing with hers.

"You didn't." He shook his head, smiling. "I want to do this."

"You're sure?"

"Yes. At least give it a try."

"But you've been working so hard for Truncheon all this time. It's not fair to take that away from you."

"You're not. Ror, I'm not quitting. I'll still go in to work, just less often than I am now. I'll edit from home and email stuff in."

"You'll be taking care of our baby. When will you find time to do all that?"

"I'll figure something out."

"And when something finally gives from you constantly figuring it out instead of letting me help?"

"Nothing will give."

"You're not a superhero."

"Fine. If it happens, I'll hand her off to you and go on one of those yogin retreats to find my balance or some other similar crap." He smirked, pushing a strand of hair behind her ear. "Don't worry, ok? It'll be fine."

"I want you to be fine first. Fine and happy and not giving up things for me or Brett."

"I am." He reassured her again, leaning in and kissing the tip of her nose before placing a quick peck on her lips. "Plus, Matt spent all of today hounding me around the office trying to make sure that I bring her in to Truncheon as much as possible so he can get his baby fix. See? I have someone to pass her on to if I get bored."

"Don't talk about our daughter like she's a football." Rory giggled, kissing him again. "And I know, he called me as well."

"Figures. You two need to gossip less."

"Oh, hush, we're friends. We're supposed to talk." She smiled, running her fingers through his hair. "Tell me one more time you want to do this."

"I want to do this." Jess nodded, smiling. "Tell me one more time I _can_ do this."

"You can do this."

"Thanks." He leaned in, kissing her softly.

"How's Chris doing with the potential of you bringing baby in the office?"

"He's fine with it."

"You sure?"

"Yeah." He nodded. "I asked him when Matt wasn't around to drive us mad and he said he's perfectly fine. He has headphones stuck in his ears most of the time anyway, he couldn't hear a foghorn."

"Did you hug?"

"What?" He laughed, looking at her incredulously.

"In my head, that conversation has a very sentimental tone to it."

"Trust me, it didn't."

"Oh, fine, ruin my fun." She messed up his hair, laughing. "So you'll be less _Mr. Mom_ and more _3 Men and a Baby_?"

"Don't put it like that. The prospect of being Ted Danson is highly unappealing."

"Could be worse, you could be Steve Guttenberg. Ted did _Becker_ and _Cheers_. What more could you possibly want?"

"Selleck's mustache?"

"You couldn't rock it."

"I'm hurt."

"Jess, I love you, but you have to be Peter Selleck to be able to have that mustache and not look like a porn star."

"Who said that's not what I'm going for?"

"Oh, in that case…" She laughed, kissing him quickly before yawning. "Can we continue this conversation in the morning?"

"I think we're done with it."

"Ok. You can change your mind at any time. You don't even have to try."

"I know." He nodded, lying back down, waiting for her to do the same before wrapping his arms around her from behind. "Good night."

"Sleep well, Ted. Love you."

"Love you too." Jess smiled, kissing her shoulder as his hand rested on her bump, feeling a couple of kicks against his palm.

"Jess?" She mumbled after a few minutes, squeezing his hand in hers.

"Hm?"

"You have nothing to worry about. You will be amazing with Brett."

"Thank you."

"Any time."


	56. Open House

**A/N: Rah, rah, dissertation whine. And job application whine. And everything whine. Make my day, leave a review ;). **

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**Open House**

"So, Rory, where is Jess tonight?" Emily asked, handing the young woman a glass.

"Working." She smiled. "Truncheon's having an open house tomorrow night and he's going to be busy until it's done, so I decided to come over for the night and not have him worry about me being alone in the house for hours." She shot her mother a look. "And don't even try to mock that."

"I wasn't going…"

"Mom."

"Ok, fine, I was. But you've got to admit…"

"It's overprotective, I know." She smiled, her hand resting on her bump. "But it makes him feel better and he's my husband, so making sure he's happy is part of my job."

"No, no, silly, he has to make you happy. The other way around is completely optional."

"Lorelai." Emily glared at her daughter and Lorelai rolled her eyes.

"I'll get a sign that says joke and lift it in the air every time you're supposed to laugh." Seeing her mother's icy glare, she sunk deeper in the chair. "Or I'll just shut up instead."

"If only." Emily looked at Lorelai, sipping from her glass.

"Grandpa is still at work?"

"Yes. He assures me he's going to retire before the end of the year."

"Hasn't he been saying that…?"

"For the past three years. Yes." She sighed wistfully.

"Can you get his doctors on your side?"

"I tried. But Richard will do whatever he wants."

"Maybe we should organize an intervention."

"Lorelai." Emily called her name again, exasperated.

"Sheesh, I'm getting Lorelai-ed a lot tonight."

"You did say you were going to be quiet." Rory pointed out, smiling.

"Ingrate. You're supposed to be on my side."

"I'm going to go check on dinner and let you two finish this, ok?" Emily stood up, rolling her eyes and the two women grimaced.

"Sorry, grandma."

"Yes. Sorry."

"Your sincerity is so overwhelming."

* * *

"How's it going?" Rory grinned when Jess picked up the phone, sipping from her coffee cup.

"_Thought I told you we could handle it."_

"But…"

"_Ror." _Jess rolled his eyes, smirking.

"It's purely selfish, you see. I want Truncheon to do well so you can have a job and I don't have to be the sole breadwinner in the family."

"_We've got it covered." _He laughed, shaking his head. _"I thought you'd gone away so I didn't have to have this conversation a million times."_

"No, it was so you wouldn't have to strap me down to a chair to keep me from helping."

Looking around to make sure he was alone in the room, Jess lowered his voice. _"The strapping down…"_

"Don't finish that."

"_Only if you hang up the phone and let me finish working instead." _

"You'd prefer organizing stuff for an open house to talking to your wife? I'm hurt." She fake pouted, struggling not to burst out laughing.

"_No, but I really want to get this over and done with so we can all get more than three hours of sleep tonight."_

"I will kill all of you if you don't."

"_Then let me work."_

"You sure you don't want me to drive back early and help out tomorrow?"

"_Yes. And to answer your next question, very sure."_

"Stubborn." She stuck out her tongue even though he couldn't see her, laughing. "Please get some sleep."

"_I'll try."_

"Try?"

"_I will."_ He corrected himself, shaking his head. _"Go."_

"Bye."

"_Bye." _

Hanging up the phone, Rory walked back in her mother's living room, sitting on the couch next to her.

"How is he?"

"He says he has everything under control."

"And you…?"

"I believe him, I just feel weird not helping out. This is the first open house they've had since we got back together when I'm not there to help with the set up."

"You were complaining you can't bend over to tie your shoes anymore but you think you could help them with that?"

"Hey, way to be supportive."

"Hon, relax." Lorelai grinned, handing her the ice cream box. "You're big and uncoordinated and you wouldn't be of any use there so sit here with mommy and let's watch a movie."

"But…"

"Rory." Lorelai looked at her daughter and she exhaled loudly, taking the ice cream.

"Fine. But only because you make a good point about being uncoordinated."

"You're making pregnant women all over the world hate you by actually wanting to do anything other than sit on the couch all day long."

"It's nesting, only the house is already clean because of grandma's visit so I'm left with nothing to do. I reorganized my desk at work three times."

"That's not bad."

"And then I washed all of Brett's clothes, again, and rearranged her closet. Jess is lucky I didn't make him paint the room."

"Ok, now we're getting somewhere."

"I did mention that this was in the past 24 hours, right?" She pointed out, digging through the ice cream with a spoon, trying to get as much as possible.

"If you feel the need to clean tonight, don't let me stop you."

"How kind."

"No, I mean it. Just don't vacuum, you'll wake Will up and he's cranky when he doesn't get his sleep."

"I'm going to stop listening to you now."

"But I'm your mother, you have to listen to me."

"Whatever you need to think to help you through the night."

"You're mean."

"I'm just calling it like it is."

"You're calling it meanly."

"Whatever, mother." Rory smiled, shoving the spoon in her mouth.

* * *

"Hey, Rory. You look fabulous." Matthew greeted her as she walked in Truncheon on Saturday afternoon, giving her a quick hug.

"See, this is why I like coming over, you lie so nicely." She grinned.

"Does your husband now tell you that every day? 'Cause I'll kill him."

"No need, I promise." She reassured the man before looking around her. "Place looks good."

"How pissed off are you not being allowed to help?"

"Considering how long it takes me to tie my own shoes, not that much. I doubt I could have helped much."

"Hey." Jess walked out from the back room, holding a stack of book in his hands. "You're not supposed to be here yet."

"Mom had things to do and I apparently get dressed much faster if you're not around for me to whine to about being fat."

"Remind me to show you pictures of my sister when she was pregnant. She looked like she'd swallowed one of those giant gym balls when she was about two weeks in." He laughed, making Rory shake her head.

"It's about how I feel, trust me." Walking to Jess who was trying to find space for the books, before dropping them on the floor, frustrated, she kissed him quickly, running a hand through his hair. "How's this going?"

"Fine. Go upstairs and have coffee."

"No."

"You're not allowed to help." Matt chimed in as well, going back to pushing one of the tables to the opposite side of the room.

"You too?"

"Of course."

"I'll go find Chris, maybe he needs something." She stuck out her tongue, trying to get away but Jess caught her hand in his, stopping her.

"No."

"It's ok, Chris doesn't need any help." Chris yelled from the other room. "Hey, Rory."

"You too, Brutus?"

"Even if I wanted you to help, you think I could get it past your protectors?" He smiled as he joined the others in the front room, bringing some bottles with him. "Not that I want you to." He replied when he saw both Jess and Matthew glare at him. "Sheesh, you two take me way to seriously."

"I highly doubt that." Jess smirked, placing a kiss on Rory's temple before heading for the store room.

"Jane's upstairs, you can go hang out with her." Matt shrugged, looking at the stairs.

"Has she been relegated to a no helping role as well?"

"Maybe. We're mostly moving stuff now, we don't need you two here to get in our way." He smiled and Rory shook her head.

"You're all crazy." Walking to the office, she found Jane sitting down on the floor, looking over a notebook, chewing on a pencil.

"Hey."

"Oh, hi!" The other woman greeted enthusiastically, waving. "Did they kick you out?"

Pointing at her stomach, Rory smiled. "I thought it was only because of the being pregnant thing, but it seems they've decided to explore the limits of misogyny."

"They're sweet."

"Yeah, they are." Rory gushed as well, rubbing her bump. "I'm going to go find something to drink, can I get you something?"

"I think there's some Coke in the fridge up here."

Walking to the fridge, Rory picked up a couple of cans, handing Jane one before sitting down in an arm chair. "God, this place looks so different."

"You lived here when it was still an apartment, didn't you?"

"For a few months while Jess and I were trying to find our own place. I still can't get used to the thought that it's an office and it's been years."

"I almost fell asleep on the exercise bench my parents put in my room after I moved out. I get it." She smiled sympathetically.

"Nice to know I'm not alone." Realizing the other woman still had a notebook in her lap, she shook her head. "Sorry. I'm distracting you by being emotional and silly."

"You're only distracting me from doodling." Jane laughed, lifting her notebook to show Rory. "How are things with the baby?"

"Good. She's getting bigger by the day and my ribs are starting to take more of a beating, but it's all great."

"You sound excited."

"I am. Other than missing not being the size of a small country, there are no downsides. Don't get me started on talking about this, I may never stop."

"You can talk all you want, I love babies."

"Trust me, you don't want to hear all of this. I wasn't kidding about the not stopping." She laughed, shaking her head. "How are things with you and Matt?"

"So good. He's incredible."

"Who is?" Jess asked, walking in the room.

"Girl talk." Rory faked a glare, making him smirk. "You kicked us out, you don't get to know what we're talking about."

"Promise?" He kissed the top of her head, smoothing her hair down. "Have you had anything to eat today?"

"You mean other than the giant breakfast Luke made?"

"Yes."

"Grabbed a burger before I drove back here."

"Promise?"

"No, I've gone without food for a whole day." She laughed, running her hand down her leg. "I'm good, don't worry about me."

"Sorry, job description." Running his fingers through her hair again, he turned to look at Jane. "Can I get you anything?"

"No, thanks. You sure you haven't changed your minds on us helping?"

"Wouldn't want to interrupt the girl talk." Jess smirked, shaking his head. "Yell loudly if you need something."

"Or just get it ourselves?"

"Suppose you could do that. We're almost done, you can come help with the final touches."

"We're allowed to do something?" Jane asked, trying to fake shock. "Be still my beating heart."

"I know, right? I can barely contain my enthusiasm."

"Keep that up and I'm locking you both up here until people start arriving." He threatened and Rory laughed.

"Go away."

"Yes, dear." He laughed, leaning down and kissing her quickly.

"You two are adorable." Jane remarked when they were alone, making Rory blush.

"My mother calls us nauseating. Not that she's that much better with her husband."

"The infamous Lorelai."

"She'd take great pleasure in being called infamous."

"Matt's told me a lot of stories about her."

"You really should come with him next time we all go to Stars Hollow. It's a weird place, but fun."

"I'm dying to meet Kirk."

"I'm still not convinced he's not some sort of half breed alien species."

"Oh, do you have any more stories?" Excitement building up, Jane threw the notebook away, leaning closer to Rory.

"Far too many."

* * *

"We are never doing that again." Matt whined, taking a swig from his beer and Jane ruffled his hair.

"You say that every time." Rory pointed out.

"I mean it this time."

"I like the way you think." Chris nodded in agreement with his friend. "Jess?"

"Hey, I'm down with no more open houses."

"Until you start planning the next one." Rory pointed out.

"Sh, don't be rational during the complaining part of the evening." Matt grinned before banging his head on the table. "We're going for catharsis now." He mumbled as Jane smiled, rubbing the back of his neck with one hand.

"Maybe if you'd let us help, you'd be less tired."

"And interrupt their male punching chests, making gorilla noises time? Don't be silly!" Rory laughed. "We're women, we must be protected from the evil that is doing anything but making them sandwiches."

"I mean, next we're gonna want to vote!"

"Preposterous!"

"You two done?" Jess smirked, placing a quick kiss on Rory's shoulder.

"Not yet, I have to make a barefoot and pregnant comment."

"Chained to the stove?"

"Such is our fate." She grinned at Jane.

"Next time, you two can organize everything while we sit around drinking." Chris laughed, playing with his beer bottle.

"Next time, you keep your mouth shut." Jess laughed, shaking his head.

"You think people liked it?" Matthew lifted his head, drinking from his bottle.

"Right on cue." Jess checked his watch.

"Yes. And if you don't shut up about this, I will make you sure you don't live to see tomorrow." Chris chimed in as well.

"Hey!" Jane protested, making Matt smile.

"Ha! Someone is finally on my side."

"No fair, I've always defended you." Rory pouted.

"You're right, I'm sorry. I have the women on my side. I win."

"Isn't there some sort of rule that says you're supposed to be on my side before anyone else's?" Jess chuckled.

"Not when you're being mean." She pointed out, kissing his cheek.

* * *

"Fuck, I'm so tired." Jess groaned, throwing himself on the bed as Rory was trying to kick her shoes off. "I know, language." He laughed, lifting his head slightly.

"I'll give you a pass. " Rubbing her stomach, she smiled at it. "Settle down, kid."

"What's she up to?"

"Just kicking me like mad, nothing unusual. Want to play?"

Nodding, he waited for her to walk closer before sliding his hands under her shirt, placing them on her bump, smiling when he felt the kicks.

"Still think it's cool?"

"Yeah." He nodded again, pushing back gently against the kicks. "In a mind blowing sort of way."

"You're in a sappy mood, aren't you?"

Laughing softly, he shrugged, kissing her stomach. "Get changed and lie down, you've been on your feet too long tonight."

"Silly man." She smiled, ruffling his hair before creaking her neck, starting to take off her shirt. Walking to her, Jess wrapped his arms around her from behind, placing a kiss on her neck.

"Do I tell you often enough how happy I am to have you in my life?"

"Jess…"

"I mean, Truncheon and all that's good, but you're…pretty much everything."

"I love you." She smiled, squeezing his hand, trying to bite back happy tears.

"I love you too."

"And what you said? Definitely goes both ways."

"I know." He smiled, kissing her head. "I'm gonna go brush my teeth, you better be in bed when I get back."

"Overprotective!" She laughed, letting go of his hand as he stepped into the other room. "You think we would have made it work if I'd stayed that night?" Rory asked when he sat down in bed a few minutes later, pushing a stand of hair away from his face.

"What night?"

"First open house I came to. If I hadn't gotten back together with him before I came to see you."

"I don't know."

"Speculate." She giggled, lying down and he lay next to her, propping himself up with one arm.

"Why? We're making it work now, it's a bit late for hypotheticals."

"Jess, come on." She pouted, tracing his bottom lip with her thumb.

"Probably not."

"Why?"

"You were still in love with that bastard. It's really hard to make something work when one person's rebounding. Plus, we would have had to deal with the whole distance issue for much longer than we did."

"You don't think we could have…?"

"I'm not saying we definitely would have broken up." He shrugged, kissing her fingers. "But it would have taken a lot more effort."

"I think we would have made it." She smiled, moving her fingers down to his jaw. "I may have loved him, but you're you. You're different."

"I better be."

"Not what I meant. To me. How I felt for him is not even close to how I feel for you."

"Good to know." Leaning closer, he placed a soft kiss on her lips. "But you sort of proved that when you married me and not him."

"I had to marry you, silly. I got pregnant, it's what you do. Ask grandma."

"Right. Forgot about that." Chuckling, he shook his head. "Can I go to sleep now?"

"Yes." Extending her arm, she turned off the light, before trying to flip over. "We're seriously going to need a crane for me to move around soon. And I mean that in a matter of fact way, not a 'console me while I wine about being fat' way." She grumbled when she finally managed to settle down, making him smirk.

"We'll go shopping for one next week." He wrapped his arm around her, kissing her shoulder.

"Jess?" She whispered after a few seconds on silence, her fingers playing with his.

"Hm?"

"Knowing that I'm the only woman you've loved makes me really selfishly happy. I'm sorry I can't give you that."

"'S ok. I'll settle for being the last man you love."

"That I can do." She smiled, lifting his hand and placing a quick kiss on his palm. "Good night."

"Night."


	57. Different shades of crazy

**A/N: Thank you for the reviews, guys. You're all every shade of awesome there is. **

* * *

**Different shades of crazy**

"We've ruined her life." Rory announced, walking into the office a few days later.

"Whose life?" He mumbled in reply, not looking up.

"Brett's. What, are we responsible for more than one person and you didn't tell me?"

"My mistake. I'm sorry." Jess smirked, putting his book down with a sigh of regret. "How did we ruin her life now?"

"We didn't plan her better!"

"We didn't plan her at all. It's really hard to do something better when you never did it in the first place."

"Not the point, Jess. Focus."

"What am I focusing on?"

"On the fact that we've pretty much guaranteed that she will never have any friends over for her birthday parties."

"What?" He looked at her confused and Rory started pacing around the room, her hands rubbing her stomach.

"Everyone's going to be hungover or away or whatever and they'll never come to her parties. And what if she's born a day early, hm? Poor baby's going to have to settle for just having us there all the time."

"Poor baby will live."

"She's going to be miserable." Rory pouted, waling to him and ruffling his hair. "If we have another one, we're planning it."

"But then Brett will hate us for not giving the other one a bad birthday."

"You're mocking me, aren't you?"

"A bit, yeah." He smirked, standing up and pointing with his head at his arm chair. "Sit down."

"Ranting is much easier when I can pace."

"Pace on the inside or something."

Rolling her eyes, Rory sat down down. "You're ridiculous." Pulling the chair from the desk in front of her, he sat down as well, his hands resting on her knees. "I don't want her to be unhappy." She pouted, looking down at her bump.

"She won't be. She'll have other kids there."

"What if she's born on the 4th?"

"Then we'll name her Ron instead." He smirked, leaning over and placing a quick kiss on her lips. "Plus she'll get fireworks. Fireworks on your birthday would be pretty cool, wouldn't it?"

"Suppose so."

"And it will be hot outside so we could have her parties in the yard or a park or something."

"Maybe even a water park? When she's bigger?"

"Yes." He nodded. "Whatever you two want. Water park, un-birthdays, anything."

"You need to stop being so nice to me."

"No." He shook his head, smiling. "I have to, I read it in the husband's rulebook."

"Well, if it's in the rules…" Rory giggled. "She won't hate us?"

"Nah. Not for this, anyway." Rubbing her knees, he smirked. "Do you have some sort of weekly freak out planned about how we're going to do something and she's going to hate us?"

"Bi-weekly, in fact." She laughed again, ruffling his hair again. "It's not my fault that she's making it really hard for me to think about anything other than her by kicking the hell out of me."

"Sorry."

"It's fine. I'm taking it as even more of nature's way of getting me ready for motherhood. I just wish everyone would stop telling me it gets worse. I'm fully aware of the fact that she can only get bigger and of course it's going to be more uncomfortable but I don't want to be reminded of it." Taking a deep breath, she grinned. "Ok, done ranting, help me up."

Shaking his head at her, Jess stood up, taking her hands and helping her to her feet. "Lunatic."

"That's a new one."

"I know, I got bored of calling you crazy."

"You so need to be nicer to me." Rory joked, standing in the doorway. "Is it ok with you if I call for dinner? I'm starving."

"Sure."

"Pizza?"

"Yeah." He nodded, picking his book up again.

"Ok. I'll come get you when it's here." She started leaving the room, but Jess smirked.

"Was this outburst by any chance caused by _Sixteen candles_?"

"I'm going to not answer that." She giggled, blowing him a kiss before leaving the room.

* * *

"Ok, I'm panicking now." Jess let out a breath as his uncle picked up the phone.

"_What?"_

"You asked me a few weeks ago if I was panicking. I wasn't. However, I am now."

"_What brought this on?"_

"Ten weeks left. Let's start with that, we'll take it from there." Throwing himself in the chair again, he ran a hand through his hair. "And since I can't really go to Jimmy for wise advise on fatherhood, you'll have to do."

"_So nice of you to say that." _

"Screw this. If you're not going to help…"

"_Oh, jeez, I didn't say I wasn't going to help. Breathe."_

"Luke, I swear to God…" Pressing his head against the back of the chair, he stared at the ceiling. "Tell me I'm gonna do fine."

"_You're gonna do fine. And you're an idiot for doubting it."_

"You're really good at the pep talks, aren't you? What, Dr. Phil doesn't sell a book on this?"

"_Nice to know you can always be a smart ass."_

"It's a skill."

"_Jess, you're going to be alright."_ Luke tried to reassure him, smiling. _"Babies are pretty hard to kill. Just love her and Rory, be there for them and it's going to work out."_

"You make it sound easy."

"_Because if I told you how hard the fact that you're responsible for another human be is going to hit you, you'd panic even more."_ The man shrugged. _"But you don't have any other options than to stick with it even when it's terrifying."_

"Yeah, I know."

"_Oh, and Jess? The good definitely outweighs the bad by a long shot." _

"Thanks." He smiled, pinching the bridge of his nose. "I'm gonna go. Thanks for the talk."

"_You sure? We can…"_

"I'm sure." He interrupted the man. "Bye."

"_Bye." _

Throwing his phone on the desk next to him, Jess looked around before standing up, walking to the nursery where Rory was sitting in the rocking chair, reading a book.

"Hey." She greeted, putting the book down and he rolled his eyes at his own stupidity.

"I freaked. And I called Luke."

"Freaked about how fast this is approaching?"

"I figured it was my turn to have a meltdown." He smirked, walking to her and pulling the foot rest closer, sitting on it. "You're actually calm for a change, the shoes were getting cold."

"What did Luke say?"

"Not much." He closed his eyes when her hand went in his hair, running through it softly. "I shouldn't have called him."

"Jess, you should talk to anyone you think can help. Or not talk. Or whatever you want."

"Yeah, I know. I just…he can't really tell me anything I don't already know."

"Yet you keep waiting for one day someone to give you the solution on how to be the world' greatest parent?"

"How'd you guess?"

"Let's say it's a feeling I know all too well."

"It scares me that I'm not going to be good enough." He whispered, his eyes still closed. "Admitting to you isn't great either."

"Now you're the crazy one." Rory smiled, grabbing the arms of the chair and pushing herself forward, close enough to kiss him. "You can tell me anything."

"I know. But it's not the easiest of thoughts to put in words."

"Listen to me." She kissed the tip of his nose, making him smile. "You can be afraid of anything you want. That you're going to drop her on her head or forget her in the car on a really hot day or read the wrong books to her and scar her for life or whatever. But you cannot think for even a second that you're not good enough for her."

"Rory…"

"No. You've taken care of both of us. You're sweet and gentle and kind and sure, you have your flaws, but you've never once not been here for me when I needed you, no matter how stupid the reason I needed you was. And you may not know that you're going to love her and be willing to do anything for her, but I do."

"I really wish loving her was as easy for me as it is for you."

"I have the advantage here, with all the hormones and crap."

"I don't not love her…I just…" He tried to explain but she stopped him again with a soft kiss.

"It's ok."

"You think?"

"I know." She took his hand in hers, squeezing it tightly. "Trust me."

"Why?"

"Don't I look trustworthy?" She giggled, remembering their first meeting. "Trust me because I know you better than anyone."

"When you put it like that."

"If you still feel like this after she's born, then we'll have to work on it. But right now? Don't worry."

"Fine." He gave in, finally smiling.

"And tell me things like these." She asked him, running her fingers over his cheek. "I know I talk a lot, but shut me up and tell me if anything scares you. Ever. Or makes you unhappy. I don't like the thought of you being unhappy. Just…talk to me about everything. It's what I'm here for."

"I try."

"I know. I don't want to imply you don't. Just reminding you that you can and should and I love you no matter what."

"Fine." He smirked, running his knuckles over her stomach. "I won't fail?"

"No. You won't."

"You're better at pep talks than Luke. Plus you'd look way better in the cheerleader outfit."

"Didn't we have this conversation before?"

"I can still dream." He laughed. "I still have no idea why the hell you have so much faith in me."

"It's easy, trust me."

"I highly doubt that."

"That's because you're an idiot."

"Rory, I know I didn't make it easy." He shrugged.

"I didn't either."

"But you're…well, you." Jess smirked, pushing a strand of hair behind her ear. "You even had the pompoms out in high school and God knows I really didn't deserve them."

"Because I could always see that you had the potential to do really good things with your life. Plus, this time it was really easy because we were either going to make it or fail for good."

"And that made it easy?"

"I didn't want to not have you in my life, so I had to believe we were going to work. Which meant believing in you by extension. See? Easy."

"If you say so." He smirked, standing up. "I'm going to go grab a beer, you want me to make coffee?"

"I'll come with you, I'm about ready for leftovers. Plus I can sniff your beer and think back of the times when I used to be able to drink." She smiled, pulling herself up by grabbing the arms of the chair.

"How are you not pacing about this yet? Ten weeks ago, I woke up to you trying to pack in the middle of the night and now it's all so…oh, whatever?" Jess asked when they were in the kitchen, leaning against the fridge.

"She has a place to sleep, she has enough clothes to make it through the first weeks…"

"Weeks?"

"Maybe months."

"After you'll be done with the showers, the only thing left for us to buy will be her prom dress."

"You're exaggerating."

"Have you seen her closet?"

"Have you been around a baby in your life?" She countered, laughing. "They can go through fifty outfits in an hour."

"Oh, if only someone had invented clothes that can be worn again."

"Oh, if only you could resist the urge to be sarcastic for two minutes." Rory stuck out her tongue, ruffling his hair. "Go back to panicking, you're less annoying like that."

"Aw…" He fake pouted, making her laugh again. "I'm annoying?"

"Yes." She kissed him softly.

"Your mother's mean to me, kid." He flicked his thumb over her bump, smirking. "Still, all your babbling about clothes and furniture is unconvincing."

"Should have known better than to try it on you." Rory laughed. "I guess I've been feeling so fat and uncomfortable lately that it's starting to outweigh the terror of actually giving birth and having to take care of a baby."

"Sorry."

"It's not like her being born now would be a better alternative, but I really wish someone would have taken care of the bad parts by now. Seriously, thousand of years and no one has figured some way of making it fun?" She ranted before taking a deep breath. "Ugh. Sorry, I'm sure you must be bored of listening to me rant."

"Hey, listening is about the only thing I can do."

"Yeah, but it was your turn to need me, instead of the other way 'round."

Brushing his finger over her cheek, he smiled, taking a swig from his beer. "I prefer you ranting, it gives me something else to think about. And by the time you're done, I completely forget what it was that had me scared in the first place."

"Good to know my venting is useful to you." She kissed his palm, smiling before walking to the microwave and taking her plate out. "Seriously though, if you…"

"Please stop worrying. I've said it, now it's done. I don't need babying."

"But…"

"Ror." He cocked an eyebrow, smirking.

"Sorry." She smiled, shaking her head.

"'S ok."

Looking up from her plate after a couple of minutes, she smiles, watching him drink from his bottle. "What do you think we'd be doing right now if I hadn't gotten pregnant?"

"You're seriously in a hypothetical mood these days, aren't you?"

"Maybe."

"I assume we'd be planning a wedding."

"Really?"

"Your obsessiveness would have taken over." Jess smirked, shrugging. "It would have taken you months to make sure everything was perfect."

"Hey, I thought we did quite well."

"I'm not saying we didn't, just that it would have been way more time consuming."

"Yeah, you're right." She conceded.

"I have to say, I prefer it this way. Quick, easy, way less mess."

"Nice to know that you liked our wedding because it wad convenient."

"You know it was more than that."

"I know." Rory smiled. "I don't think we could have done much better even if we'd planned it more."

"Good to know you think that, I like a woman that's easy to please."

Rolling her eyes, she laughed, putting her fork down. "Someday, your daughter is going to ask you to explain one of those jokes."

"I'll just tell her it's a grown up thing, just like booze. Given that she's not having any boys near her until she's out of the house, she may just buy it."

"I hadn't heard this speech in a while."

"You never take me seriously." He sighed, chuckling.

"No, I don't." Rory giggled. "She's your daughter, I'm pretty sure that even if we did try to keep her from dating, she would find some sort of way of going about it. And I'd rather know."

"I have no idea what you're trying to imply by that whole 'my daughter' comment."

"I'll get Luke back on the phone, he's sure to have some things to bring to this conversation."

"Nah. He doesn't." He smirked, rubbing her knee. "Done with food?"

"Yeah."

"You want to go watch a movie on the couch? I'll rub your feet and you can moan at me about how horrible I am for getting you pregnant."

"You're a great husband, you know that?"

"Yes." He stood up, extending his arms and helping her up. "Go pick something, I'll clean this up."

"I take that back. You're not great, you're the best husband ever." Rory grinned, placing a kiss on his cheek.

* * *

"Jess…" Rory drew out his name, kissing his cheek late Saturday afternoon.

"Hm?"

"If I asked for a favor that you're going to think is silly, are you going to call me crazy?"

"Very likely."

"But that would be mean." She laughed, ruffling his hair. "And you don't want to be mean to your loving wife, do you?"

"I do if she refers to herself as my loving wife." He smirked, leaning over to Rory and kissing her quickly. "What do you want?"

"I'm not asking if you're going to think I'm insane."

"I already think that, you can go ahead."

"Suppose so." Biting her lip, she rested her hands on her stomach. "Can we put the car seat in?"

"Why?"

"Because I want to."

"You realize how much mocking we'd have to face from Lorelai and Luke and hell, pretty much everyone?"

"Yes."

"And you still want to do this?"

"It's silly. I told you that at the beginning." She bit her lip, giggling. "I would just feel better if it was there. If she's born now, I really don't think either one of us would feel up to doing that while we had her in the hospital. If she waits like she's supposed to and I don't have to ground her for life, I want you in the hospital as much as possible as you driving home to get this set up would interfere with that."

"And why can't that be done in the next few weeks?"

"Because I want to do it now?" She smiled, kissing his cheek. "So?"

"We can do a test. We'll put it in to make sure we can do it and then take it out and you will not bring it up again until June."

"Dirty!"

"That's it, you've been spending too much time with Lorelai."

"Impossible."

"So…? What do you say? It's my final offer."

"Fine. Suppose it'll have to do."

"If you're agreeing only because you think I'm going to change my mind and leave it there…? Not gonna happen."

"Damn you."

"Though luck." Jess smirked. "I know you too well."

"Yeah, you do. It's nice." She replied with a smile.

"Give me a minute, I'll go grab the thing."

"Thank you."

"You'll be standing by the car grinning like a maniac?"

"Yes!" Rory giggled again before sauntering out of the room, leaving Jess looking after her, an amused look on his face before he headed for the stairs.


	58. Baby Shower

**A/N: With this chapter, this story's now reached 200.000 words. Wow. That's about it. I am so completely blown to pieces that you guys still have the patience to read this and not kill me for the slow updates and still review, even after all this time. Thank you. You are all completely awesome. *hands out coffee and home made muffins* Thank you again. **

* * *

**Baby Shower**

"Get me out of it." Rory whined to her mother Saturday morning as they were having breakfast in the diner.

"You're very naïve if you think even I have that much power." Lorelai laughed in reply, picking up her coffee cup.

"She tried to get the doctor to put her on bed rest for the weekend."

"Snitch." She glared at her husband and he smirked. "And I didn't try it, I joked about it with her. There's a difference." She directed her comment to her mother, laughing.

"Don't worry, hon, if there's anyone in the world that truly understands the need to be as far away from my mother and her friends, it's me. You were always the one that was so 'oh, grandma, you're neat, I love spending time with you'."

"I don't mind spending time with her. It's the DAR bunch I want to stay far away from."

"You'd be so much more believable about liking spending time with her if you hadn't bailed out of dinner last night, leaving me completely at her mercy."

"Mom, I have a job. I know you've heard of the concept. Sometimes, I have things to do and I can't get out of them early."

"And your story was… ?" She looked at Jess, trying to look intimidating.

"Would you mind leaving me out of your madness? It's a bit early in the morning." Jess chuckled, shaking his head.

"I thought after living with Rory for years, there was no such thing."

"Hey!" Rory protested, pouting. "For that, you have to get me out of the shower."

"Nice try."

"I had to." Ruffling Jess' hair, she smiled. "Can you play the controlling husband part for a day and not let me go?"

"You really think anyone would buy that you would ever listen to anything I say?"

"Grandma's friends might."

"And then Taylor would seriously have a reason to call some support group for you."

"It would never get back to him. Please, Jess, please, please, please?" She batted her eyelashes before kissing his cheek.

"No."

"I'll buy you a cookie."

"Chocolate?" He smirked, sipping from his coffee mug.

"Yes."

"No." He shook his head again, trying not to laugh. "You're on your own."

"Jerk." She made a face at him before turning back to her mother. "He's mean."

"Yes, he is."

"I'm going to leave you two alone now." Jess announced, standing up. "There really is only so much I can take."

"I'll be up later to change per grandma's instructions."

"Ok." He shrugged, heading up the stairs.

"Is he ok?" Lorelai asked, looking after the man.

"Yeah. He was just up late writing last night." Rory smiled, picking up a piece of bacon with her fork.

"What's he working on?"

"I have no idea." She shrugged. "I keep telling him to get all the sleep he can now, but he's not listening."

"Are you?"

"I'm trying." She laughed. "She's not making it easy." She rubbed her stomach, smiling down at it. "Now you're sleeping, demon child."

"Welcome to motherhood."

* * *

"We can still run, right?" Rory looked at her mother as they stood in front of the country club.

"Say the word and I'll drive us to Mexico."

"She'll track us down."

"Very likely." Lorelai grimaced. "So… ?"

"I suppose we have to go in."

"You had to go and get pregnant, didn't you?" She sighed before walking towards the door, Rory following behind her.

"Rory, you look wonderful." Emily greeted as they walked in the front room, a couple of servers standing there.

"Hey, we're on time." Lorelai announced surprised as she looked at the clock on the wall.

"Of course we are." Rory shot at her mother. "Thanks, grandma." She looked back at Emily, smiling. "Place looks great."

"Thomas is around, he is responsible for this."

"Thomas?" Lorelai chimed in.

"The planner."

"I thought _her_ name was Joanne." She asked, confused.

"Oh, no, she didn't work out."

"Do I want to know why?"

Rory shook her head quickly, warning her mother to avoid the subject. "Should we go in and not keep everyone waiting?"

"Yes, yes, let's go." Emily realized, guiding the two towards the dining room.

"Mom went all out." Lorelai whispered to Rory a while later, after they were done greeting most people. "Though seriously good champagne."

"Thanks for that." Rory grumbled, looking around her. "I'm glad you're enjoying it. Especially in front of me. Really glad."

"With a bit of luck, I'll get drunk and she'll kick me out."

"I will kill you if you do." Seeing a blonde woman heading towards them, Rory bit her lip, grimacing. "Please tell me grandma didn't invite her."

"Who?"

"Shira."

"Logan's mother?"

"Uh-huh." Rory whispered, putting on a fake smile as the other woman finally reached them.

"Rory, hello."

"Hi, Shira." She replied, trying to keep the smile on. "I don't think you two have met. This is my mother, Lorelai. Mom, Shira Huntzberger."

"I've heard a lot about you." Lorelai Smiled at the woman, shaking her hand.

"You look wonderful, Rory." The woman addressed Rory again.

"Thanks."

"How far along are you?"

"Just starting month eight."

"But you only got married in December!"

"Must be magic." She mumbled, rolling her eyes. "How's Mitchum? I do hope his business is doing better, last I heard it was still suffering from the recession." She shot back.

"Oh, yes, thank you."

"Good to know, I wouldn't want him to lose any more papers."

"I should be going. I only dropped by for a second because I heard it was your baby shower."

"It was nice seeing you again."

"Yes, you too."

"Give my best to everyone."

"I will. Goodbye, Rory."

"Bye." Breathing a sigh of relief as soon as the woman was gone, Rory looked at her mother. "She's as pleasant as I remember her to be."

"You handled it better than I would have. I think my tongue may be bleeding from how much I had to bite it."

"Thanks for refraining. I don't want to ruin grandma's day."

Rubbing her daughter's arm, Lorelai smiled. "Not much left." She took a sip from her glass, pausing for a second. "What was that about Mitchum?"

"He had to sell a couple of papers. Nothing major, but hopefully it dinged his ego a bit."

"I must say, I like the less angelic version of you."

Giggling, Rory shook her head. "If they can't play nice, I won't either."

"Meow." Seeing Emily motion for Rory, she tilted her head towards her. "I think mom needs you for something."

* * *

"Lorelai, right?" A woman smiled, approaching Lorelai as Rory was talking to a different group.

"Hm?" She swallowed, glancing at the woman. "Yes. I'm sorry, I don't… "

"Oh, no we haven't met." The other woman laughed, sipping from her glass as well. "I'm Nancy Sanders."

Trying to place the name, Lorelai pushed her hair behind her ear, hemming. "I… "

"You dated my son?"

"In high school?" She tried to guess, still unsure.

"Oh, no, this was a few years ago."

"I must have completely lost any brain cells I still had, but I cannot… wait, Sanders? Peyton!" She finally realized. "How is he?"

"Good. He got married a couple of years back."

"To his Jaguar dealer, I'd guess." She quipped quietly to herself. "Send him my congratulations."

"Did you ever get married?"

"Yeah, five years ago. I had a son last year."

"Really? I thought Rory was your… "

"My daughter. Yes." She confirmed, laughing. "I wanted to make sure there wouldn't be any sibling rivalry issues."

"Oh. That's… nice?"

Rolling her eyes, she smiled at the woman. "If you'll excuse me, I see someone else I should talk to." Walking to Rory, she waited for her to free herself from the conversation. "Can I leave now?" She pleaded when the younger woman walked to her, pouting. "Please?"

"Why?"

"Let's just say my sense of humor is totally lost on this crowd." She laughed, looking at all the women around them. Nodding knowingly, Rory smiled.

"You still can't go."

"But are we ever going to do anything? It's a baby shower! I don't expect games, but at least opening presents?"

"Sorry."

"Seriously?"

"Grandma said there will be cake. Cake's good, right?"

"Suppose." Lorelai pouted. "Oh, by the way, someone offered to give me the number of her plastic surgeon to pass on to you." She snickered.

"What?"

"So you can schedule your lipo for after the baby's born. She strongly recommends the week after."

"Is she insane?"

"I'm convinced ninety percent of the people in this room need to have their meds upped."

"I'm not sure you're wrong about that." Rory smiled.

"Did I tell you at least three people so far have scolded me for not being a member of the DAR and letting the family name down?" She giggled again, picking up another glass of champagne. "I'd ignore you and leave, but I love you too much to leave you at their mercy."

"I'm permanently indebted."

"I still say we should have arranged to have Jess call and say he's in the hospital or something so we could get out of it."

"And jinx it? No way." She shook her head, grinning. "I'm going to go find grandma and see how long until cake."

"Tell her to hurry."

"Just have more champagne!"

"Oh, I'm going to." Lorelai grinned as Rory stepped away from her.

"Hey, grandma. Thank you so much for this, the party's great."

"I'm glad you're enjoying it. Here, Natalie wanted to see you." Emily smiled, guiding Rory towards the other woman.

"Rory, you look fabulous!" She exclaimed as Rory readied herself for another round of mind-numbing chit-chat.

* * *

"… And then of course I told her 'Listen, darling, I don't care what you think you heard, I said no later than Tuesday!'." The woman continued her story with a giggle and Rory smiled politely, nodding.

"Of course."

"Oh, we miss you so much at the meetings. You should come more often." She changed subjects, completely ignoring Rory's discomfort.

"I would love to, but I'm afraid I can never make it in time. Philadelphia is so far away."

"I heard you're not even attending the local chapter's meetings."

"Oh, I… " She hesitated, trying to formulate an answer. "I just don't think I could ever have as much fun as I had with this group. If you'll excuse me, I need to sit down for a minute. Baby." She excused herself quickly, faking a grimace and holding her side before finding a seat as far away from the woman as possible.

"You said there would be cake!" Lorelai whined, sitting next to her daughter. "An hour ago! And guess what? Still no cake."

"Mom, you've got a complaint, take it up with grandma."

"You're snippy. Not nice." She pouted.

"Sorry. If one more person questions Brett's name, I'll throttle them."

Trying to stifle her giggles, Lorelai bit her lip.

"What?"

"The visual of eight months pregnant you jumping on someone is just so… too… " She started laughing and Rory joined in after a few seconds, both of them covering their mouths with their hands trying to stay below everyone's radar.

"Are you two having some sort of fit?" Emily shot them a look and they both sat back up at the same time, still grinning.

"Sorry, grandma."

"If you're done, it's time to cut the cake."

"Yay!" Lorelai yelped excitedly. "Sorry." She apologized, seeing her mother's disapproving look.

"You should say a few words to your guests first." Emily encouraged Rory as she stood up and the younger woman took a deep breath.

"Do I have to?"

"They're all here for you, Rory."

"For the love of all things, do what she asks so we can go." Lorelai whispered in her ear, pleadingly.

"Fine." She sighed, glaring at her mother. Grinning, Lorelai crossed her arms over her chest.

"May the fourth be with you."

"You've been waiting all day to say that, haven't you?"

"Hey, I only get one chance a year to use it."

"You're demented."

"What's going on?" Emily glared at the two.

"Nothing." They replied in unison, giggling again.

* * *

"Finally." Rory sighed, crashing on the couch in the diner apartment later that day.

"How was it?" Jess put his book down and she curled next to him, resting her head on his shoulder.

"Not bad. Long. Your daughter spent a lot of time kicking me."

"Thought we'd talked about this, spawn." He smirked, running his thumb over her bump. "Sorry." He kissed Rory's head, making her smile.

"It's ok. I won't let her watch TV for the first six months of her life or something."

"That's a bit harsh, isn't?" He kissed her head again. "Anything exciting happen?"

"Logan's mother was there, for whatever reason, seeing how she's not even a member of the DAR. She didn't stay long."

"I still don't get what you saw in that jackass."

"I don't get what you saw in Shane, but that doesn't mean I hate her."

"Let me give you a hint: that wasn't my bra in the backseat."

"Karma is totally punishing you with a daughter, for the record." Ruffling his hair, she grinned. "And don't even start on your whole speech about Brett not dating."

Kissing her palm, Jess smiled. "Fine. I'll let it go this time. Did you get any good presents?"

"I don't know." Rory shrugged, standing up. "They're all at grandma's, mom and I are going by tomorrow morning to open them."

"I thought the entire purpose of a shower was to… ?"

"It is. Usually. Grandma thinks it's tacky to open presents at a party."

"Of course." He rolled his eyes, watching her as she paced through the room. "Everything ok?"

"Yeah. Just a bit uncomfortable."

"You want to go to the hospital?"

"No." She shook her head, looking at him. "I'm fine."

"You sure?" He caught her hand in his, making her stop walking for a second and Rory nodded.

"Yes. Don't worry about me."

"I can call the doctor if you want." He ignored her statement, still looking up at her.

"Jess… "

"I'm going to shut up now." He smirked, letting go of her hand and leaning back against the couch, watching her as she kept walking around the room.

"Thanks. Oh, and apparently we were supposed to have given her a middle name, so people could have gotten stuff monogrammed."

"Should've told them it's Moon Unit. That would have shut them up."

"They already think we're insane for naming her Brett."

"I think they're insane for being part of an organization that gives membership solely based on being related to someone who aided in achieving independence."

"I'm a member."

"I question your sanity anyway." He chuckled and she glared at him.

"I married you, there's no other proof needed that I'm a basket case." She laughed, checking the time. "I should go, I'm supposed to meet Lane for coffee and cake at Weston's soon and it's going to take me ages to waddle on over."

"Call me if the pain gets any worse, ok?"

"Jess, it's seriously nothing but the usual pregnancy discomfort."

"Rory… " He mimicked her earlier tone and she sighed.

"Fine, I'll call."

"Thank you."

"Crazy."

* * *

"My mother's friends are insane." Lorelai laughed, kissing Luke's cheek quickly as she walked in the diner the next day.

"I take it you're done opening presents."

"Oh, yeah. And Jess and Rory never have to buy anything for their baby ever again."

"Where's Rory?"

"Right here." The younger woman smiled, walking up to the counter. "Is Jess upstairs?"

"Yeah, watching Will. You want me to go get him?"

"Luke, I can walk up a flight of stairs."

"Sit down." He smiled at her.

"You're as silly as Jess is." Rory laughed, looking for a free table. "Aw, nowhere to sit. Bummer."

"Sh, don't say that, he'll… " Lorelai started saying, watching Luke as he walked from behind the counter, standing next to Kirk's table.

"Move."

"What?"

"I said move." He asked again, glaring at the man.

"But… "

"You've finished your lunch, you're not getting any more coffee, get out."

"But… " He tried to protest again.

"Kirk."

"Fine." He sighed, standing up. "I'm not leaving you a tip."

"He kicked Kirk out." Rory pouted, rubbing her bump.

"Never underestimate the craziness of men." Lorelai shrugged, sitting at the now free table.

"What can I get you to eat?"

"Cheeseburger with bacon and fries."

"Can I at least put some salad on it?"

"Yes. I won't even take it off."

"Thank you. Lorelai?"

"Same, but don't bother with the greenery. Oh, and no bacon either."

"At least there's that." He sighed, heading towards the counter.

"So, how do you feel now that you have two months left?"

"Excited, terrified… the usual." She snickered, shrugging. "Can't wait to meet Brett."

"Have you figured everything out?"

"Almost, except for her middle name. I'm supposed to write my birth "plan"… " She giggled, rolling her eyes. "… with the doctor at the next appointment. Apparently get her out of me with as little pain as possible is not that great of a plan."

"I think it's brilliant."

"Thank you."

"I did expect you to have this written down months ago, given your organizational freak tendencies. And I say that with all the love in the world."

"I'm still researching things. Plus, living with Jess all this time has made much more relaxed about everything." She smiled before bringing the conversation back on topic. "So, any suggestions about the plan thing? Because you're the one that's been through this before and I need all the advice I can get."

"I still want to build whomever invented the epidural a statue, so that gets my vote."

"I think I'm too much of a wuss to go without one." Rory laughed again as Luke brought their coffees.

"What are you talking about?"

"Rory's birth plan."

Grimacing, he closed his eyes briefly making both of them laugh. "Go back to the kitchen, hon." Lorelai encouraged him.

"Thanks."

"Is Jess going to be in the room with you when she's actually being born?" Lorelai asked when they were alone again, sipping from her coffee.

"Did you see the shade of green Luke turned? Jess turned a similar one when I mentioned it." She snickered. "We're still talking about it, but he said he's willing to do anything I want."

"Aw, sweet. What do you want?"

"I want him there. And you, obviously." She smiled, waiting for Lorelai's reaction.

"What?"

"Well, I'm not doing it without you. Unless you don't want to be in the room, in which case I suppose… "

"Yay!" She shrieked, jumping from her and hugging Rory. "Of course I want to."

"You sure?"

"Hey, no questioning this. I'm here for anything you want. Especially if it involves being there when you have your baby."

"Please don't start crying, because if you do, I will and I'm trying to make it through a week without crying in public."

"Not crying." She shook her head. "Not at all."

"Mom… "

"I'm fine." She let out a breath. "I love you, kid."

"Love you too."

"Food." Luke announced, standing by the table. "Everything ok?" He asked, noticing the two women's red eyes.

"We're fine." Lorelai nodded, wiping her eyes quickly.

"Promise." Rory reassured him as well.

"Call if you need anything else."

"Thanks, Luke. For everything."

"Don't mention it." He smiled at Rory before walking away.

"What was the final count on bedding sets?" Lorelai changed the subject, picking up her fork.

"Five, I think."

"Crazy." She snickered, shaking her head.

"At least it's done."

"Next stop - town shower." Lorelai grinned.


	59. You can get what you want

**A/N: Thank you for the reviews. You're all awesomely awesome :).**

* * *

**You can get what you want**

"You busy?" Rory asked, peaking her head into their office on Wednesday afternoon and Jess looked away from his computer, shaking his head.

"Not particularly. Why?"

"We need to talk."

"If you're leaving me, you chose a really shit time to do it." He smirked, pointing at her bump.

"I wouldn't tell you about it, silly." She laughed, sitting down in the arm chair. "I'd leave you a note on the dresser."

"Remember, darling don't smoke in bed?"

"Something like that. I'll even leave you my wedding ring." She smiled as she rested her hands on her stomach. "So… ?"

Pushing his foot against the desk, he made the chair roll closer to her. "What's up?"

"Doctor's appointment is tomorrow."

"This means we can't avoid the subject any longer, doesn't it?"

"Afraid so."

"Ok then." He nodded once, pushing a strand of hair behind her ear. "What do you want?"

"Nuh-uh. What do _you _want?"

"I don't think I should get much, if any say in this." Jess shrugged. "You're the one giving birth, I get to do what you say, be it pace around the corridors or hold your hand through it. Whatever you want." He stressed again, smiling.

"I want you to… "

"If you say do what I want, I'll scream."

"We are going in circles, aren't we?"

"I'm getting dizzy." He laughed, leaning over and kissing her quickly. "So?"

"I want you there. I've been thinking about it and I really can't imagine you not being in the room for as long as you want to be."

"The want thing again?" He smirked, rolling his eyes dramatically. "I'm letting you pick whatever the hell you want, yet you keep trying to give me a choice. You're going against everything Lorelai's ever tried to teach you."

"I'm nice."

"Yes, you are."

"You ok with being in the room?" Rory asked, rubbing her bump. "Calm down, Adrian, your parents are trying to have a serious conversation here."

"I think comparing our daughter to the spawn of Satan is a bit harsh." He smiled, moving one hand to her stomach as well, running his fingers over it.

"Trust me, it's not."

"I want to be there." Jess admitted, still smiling. "I think it would be pretty cool to see her officially joining the real world."

"Good." She breathed a sigh of relief, ruffling his hair. "Because now that you said that I can be really excited instead of feeling guilty about forcing you to sit through that slime bath for my happiness."

"You thought I wouldn't… ?"

"No." Rory shook her head, smiling lovingly at him. "Given how involved you've been in this, I really couldn't picture you missing the big event. But it's nice to get confirmation." Motioning for him to move closer, she kissed him, trying not laugh. "Sorry, I can't bend that far."

"I'll sacrifice and move to kiss you. It's fine."

"How nice of you."

"I am a terribly nice guy." Jess picked up her hand, kissing her palm as she ran her fingers over his face. "Anything else?"

"A couple more things. I'm guessing from the first part of this conversation that you don't want to have an input in any pain management techniques I use."

"How clever of you. The Yale degree makes total sense now." He replied sarcastically, shrugging one shoulder. "Your body, your choice."

"Even if that means my method will be crushing your hand until it's broken?"

"Sure. But a cast would put me out of play for diaper duty for a while, so I'd give it a bit more thought."

"Damn it, you're right." Rory made a face before bursting out laughing. "I'm pretty determined to have an epidural, so that's that."

"For what it's worth, I think that's the best idea."

"I can show you my research on it. I have a list with potential risks for her and… "

"Ror, what did I just say?"

"No one ever wants to see my lists." She pouted, making him laugh.

"Leave it on my desk, I'll glance at it later."

"Thank you." Her face lit up with a smile and she picked up his hand, kissing it quickly. "Oh, I've already asked mom to be in the delivery room, that's ok with you, right?"

"Rory." He groaned, lowering his head in his hands.

"Fine, forgive me for thinking of your comfort."

"Honestly, Rory, even if I had an objection to it, which I don't… " He clarified. "… I still don't think it's my place to say who can be in that room and who can't, unless we're talking your secret lover or something."

"At least if you came to blows, you'd be in a hospital."

"It's nice to know you think of my safety."

"I was thinking of his." Rory giggled and Jess fake glared at her, moving his hand to her side, sneaking them under her shirt in the same move.

"Say that again." He ran his fingers over her skin a couple of times, trying to tickle her. "I dare you."

"Mean husband." She pouted again. "No cookie."

"You're insane." He sighed, leaning over and kissing her again. "Next. Go on, we postponed this talk so much, we're running out of time."

"Do you mind if we call grandma and grandpa as well and see if they feel like spending some time in the waiting room?"

"Nope."

"Really?"

"It's their first great-grandchild, they should have the choice of being there."

"I checked the hospital website and they said we can have as many people as possible in the waiting room."

"I take it that was your indirect way of saying you'll want your dad as well?" Jess asked, his hand moving over her bump again.

"I think it would be easier if everyone got to meet her at the hospital instead of coming over here after we're home. Plus, I don't want to be the one that tells anyone that they can't be there when she's born."

"Chances we call all these people and then we decide we'd rather have time alone with her?"

"I'm gonna say high." She laughed. "But this isn't all that crucial anyway, it's more for my peace of mind. I reserve the right to change my views on this at any time."

"Don't you always?"

"I am offended by that!"

"Really?"

"Maybe offended was too strong of a word." She stuck out her tongue, looking at the door. "Bathroom break. Can you go make coffee?"

"Your wish is my command."

"Help, please?" She blinked rapidly a few times and Jess smirked, standing up and extending his hand.

"What do you do when I'm not around?"

"I have a system, but it involves some grunting and grabbing random things. Very un-lady like, I wouldn't want you to see me like that. We should have bought less comfy furniture." She smiled, placing a quick kiss on his lips before walking out of the room. Joining him in the kitchen a couple of minutes later, Rory ran her fingers down his cheek. "Thank you for the coffee."

"Any time. So your mom, Luke I assume… "

"Sookie's going to be on standby for babysitting purposes."

"Ok. Your grandparents, your dad… anyone else?"

"Liz?" She almost whispered biting her lip. "If everyone else is going to be there, it feels weird excluding her."

"Don't tell her."

"Jess, can you consider it for a minute?"

"I have. No." He shook his head, taking two cups out of a cupboard. "I'll send her pictures, call, whatever, but I really don't think I'll want to deal with her during that."

"Ok." Rory nodded, kissing him softly. "Sorry, I had to bring it up."

"I know." Jess smiled. "Tell you what, I'll even call Jimmy to let him know after she's born."

"Really?"

"Yes."

"Thank you."

Placing another kiss on her lips, Jess turned around, pouring coffee in the cups before handing her one, tilting his head towards the living room door. "Couch?"

"Sure."

"You sure you don't want to wait until after she's born to call your grandparents and your father?"

"You think we should?" She asked, sipping from her coffee cup.

"I think it might be nice to be with her by ourselves for a while before we haul her off to meet your clan. Lorelai's one thing, but we won't get a lot of room to breathe with all of them there."

"Yeah, I suppose. Tell you what, how about we ask them?" Rory offered a solution, smiling. "That way, it's their call if they want to be there even though there is the potential they'll have to wait for a while after she's born to see her."

"I'll call it less potential, more very real possibility."

"You're being sweetly possessive again."

Smirking, he nodded. "Maybe. But I'd like to have you both to myself for a bit."

"Ok. We'll tell them that's how it is and let them make the call."

"And, as you so wisely pointed out, we're going to be in a hospital, so if your dad and Luke get in a fight, the emergency room won't be too far away."

"And what a great consolation that is." She laughed. "Gah, I know I had more things to talk to you but I can't remember what the hell they were. Pregnancy has made me a complete moron."

"Assume I'll be ok with whatever you want and leave it at that. No need to talk about it."

"But we made coffee and everything."

"Is that the new rule? Talking must happen if there's coffee?"

"Yes."

"Ok then. Tell me about your day." Jess replied, drinking from his cup.

* * *

Walking in the nursery on Friday evening, Jess smiled, seeing Rory standing in front of the changing table, folding clothes. Walking to her, he wrapped his arm around her from behind, kissing her shoulder.

"Hey." Rory greeted him, still folding.

"I'm really going to miss you being pregnant when it's done."

"Why?"

"Because you're incredibly beautiful right now."

"It's ok, we'll get your eyes checked next week." She replied, still blushing slightly despite her sarcasm.

"I'd demonstrate, but I'm waiting for a call from a writer." Leaning closer, he kissed her cheek, smirking. "I'll take a rain check though."

"Tease." Rory smiled, twisting her neck to kiss him.

"My turn for a change, don't you think?"

"I have no idea what you mean by that."

"Sure you don't." He snickered, sitting down after one more kiss. "What are you up to?"

"Not much. Organizing things around here."

"Why?"

"I was bored and you're working, so it gave me something to do." Lifting a white ruffly dress in the air, she rolled her eyes. "Really? Have any of these people ever gone near a baby?"

"Of course not. That's exactly the sort of crap you'd pull out for photo shoots before shoving the kid back in the nanny's arms." Looking at the pile, he smiled. "Need any help?"

"I'm good. Take a break."

"You sure?"

"Jess."

"Fine." He smirked.

"I can't believe this is so close." Rory said after a few minutes.

"It's weeks away."

"It's close." She smiled, picking up another dress. "I hope she looks like you."

"Ok, I know she's making you uncomfortable with all the kicking and squirming, but there's no reason to with that on her."

"Don't mind your dad, Brett, he's silly." Rory looked at her bump, giggling.

"If she doesn't have your eyes, I'm disowning her." Jess whispered in her ear after taking the few steps separating them. "Or feeding her to the wolves."

"Where are these wolves that you keep threatening her with? We live in Philadelphia, not really wildlife country."

"We'll go camping." He shrugged, laughing at the same time. Crouching down, he kissed her stomach, caressing it at the same time. "Hear that, spawn?"

"What's she supposed to do, color them in if they're the wrong color?"

"Yes." He grimaced as he straightened up. "I'm too old to do that." Before Rory could reply, they heard the phone ring. "I'll be back in a bit and we'll see about that rain check."

"Promise?"

"Oh, yeah." He chuckled before leaving the room.

* * *

Hearing some scuffling in the hallway, late Saturday night, Jess walked out of the room, curious to find the source of the noise. Seeing Rory standing in front of the door, trying to put her shoes on, he smirked, cocking one eyebrow.

"What are you doing?"

"I need cake." She explained, shrugging. "I was gonna go to the store."

"And telling me about it… ?"

"I was just going to come do it, as soon as I was done with this." She pointed at her feet. "Putting shoes on is complicated when you can't reach your feet. Do you want anything?"

"Yes, for you to be sane for five minutes."

"Go to hell."

"You're gonna definitely speed up the process." He smirked, walking to her and putting his hands on her arms. "What kind of cake?"

"Chocolate raspberry. Why?"

"Because you're going to go sit down in there… " He pointed at the living room. "… While _I _go to the store."

"You don't have to."

Rolling his eyes, Jess sighed. "Ok, think of any movie you've ever seen that deals with pregnancy and midnight cravings. Who's the one that goes to the store?"

"It's not midnight." She argued and he lifted his hand, showing her his watch.

"Close enough."

"I didn't know it was this late."

"And that makes it better?"

"It makes it slightly better." Rory smiled, running her fingers through his hair. "You don't mind going? Because I'm about a minute away from unleashing the furry of a thousand banshees."

"If I can't find that one, can I get chocolate cake and raspberry jam and then Frankenstein them together?"

"Only as a last resort."

"You're making up for missing out on this in the past few months tonight, aren't you? Wanting something easy to find was too much?"

"I was going to go myself." Rory protested as she watched him put on his shoes. "There's no need to be dramatic about it."

"Yes, there is. I'll get some sort of badge that says 'suffering husband in a desperate attempt at satisfying wife's cravings'. It'll get me to the front of the line."

"Whatever gets you back faster."

"Going." He sighed, placing a kiss on her lips. "Sit down."

"I love you!" She yelled after him, laughing.

* * *

"I have cake."

"You found some?" Rory exclaimed excitedly, clapping her hands together.

"Took three stores, but yes. I did." Handing her the slice of cake with a plastic fork, he smiled. "There's more, don't worry."

"You're amazing and incredible and I love you." She grinned, starting to eat the slice of cake.

"Be sure to mention this to your mother. It will get me points with her and everyone else in your army of protectors, because we both know she'll pass the story along."

"Why are you interested in getting points? We're already married, it's not like she can do anything about it now."

"I can never have too many. She's bound to decide she hates me eventually for something, I like having stuff working in my favor."

"Fine." She mumbled, taking another bite. "This is so good."

"It better be the best freaking piece of cake ever."

"Just about, yeah."

"And here I was thinking I was going to make it out of this without having to do a midnight run to the store."

"It will give you something to play martyr about with the other dads at the playground."

"Not great consolation, but I'll take it." Jess smirked, watching her as she kept eating. "Feeling better?"

"Much. Thank you."

"Can we go to bed once you're done with that?"

"I thought you were writing tonight."

"I was. But it's now one in the morning, I'm tired and I really don't feel like doing anything more tonight."

"Ok. Sorry I interrupted."

"It's fine." Jess pushed a strand of hair behind her ear, smiling. "You should have everything you want. If that requires me to run around in the middle of the night, so be it."

"Damn you, you're going to make me cry."

"Don't. And if there's a next time, don't bother with the shoes, just tell me."

"Will do." She smiled, swallowing the last bite. "Done."

"More?"

"Maybe later."

"At least you didn't change your mind completely before I got back." Jess smirked, standing up and extending one hand, holding the bag in the other. "I'll go drop the cake in the fridge, I'll see you upstairs."

"Thank you again."

Crawling in bed next to Rory a few minutes later, Jess sighed, rolling to his side to be able to see her. "Everything ok?"

"Thinking about mom." She smiled.

"What about her?"

"How bad it had to have been for her to do this without anyone there."

"Do what?"

"Have a baby. I can't even begin to imagine for hard it would be to be 16, pregnant and not have anyone there to support you. I don't really see grandma helping her up or sending someone to the store in the middle of the night because she had a crazy craving."

"She made up for it by torturing Luke this time 'round." Jess smirked, kissing her forehead.

"I don't think that's the same." Rory smiled as well.

"I know."

"Do I thank you enough for everything you do? Because I would be so… "

Lifting a finger up to her lips, he shushed her.

"You do."

"Sure?"

"Yes." He leaned closer, kissing her while his hand played in her hair.

"It sort of makes me sad that we can't name Brett after her. If there was anyone I would want her to have as a role-model, mom would be that person. Except for the whole teenage pregnancy issue, even though she handled it so well."

"We still can if you want to."

"Nah, there would be too many of us so she can't use it if she hates her first name."

"She could find a different nickname. I recommend Trix, just to see if I can make Emily kill me."

"She probably would." Rory laughed. "I don't want that to happen."

"I can't think of many others. Lo, maybe?"

"A bit too _Lolita_. Not sure it's a message we want to send."

"I'll give you that." He kissed her again, smiling. "Your mom's middle name?"

"Victoria, but seriously, I was just making a comment. We won't do it, I was entertaining the though."

"If you're sure… "

"I am."

"Ok. However I do believe I've made it clear that I have to do anything I can to stop you from being sad, even if it's sort of. And if that would require me to agree to a name you wanted, that's that. I'd do it."

"I know you would. And you do do everything. More than that, actually."

"Good to know. I love you, Rory."

"I love you too. Especially when you bring me cake." She snickered, trying to stifle a yawn. "Sleep time?"

"Yes. Night."

"Good night."


	60. Ten pound octopus

**A/N: Sorry, guys. I'm in my last few weeks of university and projects and exams and presentations are all piling up, not to mention all the other stuff to do with graduating. In better news, three weeks until (temporary) freedom! Wish me luck and kick my ass if you see me updating again before then, okay? Love you all and thank you for the reviews.**

* * *

**Ten pound octopus**

"I think you're missing the rest of that sandwich." Jess made a face as he walked in the kitchen.

"What's wrong with what I'm eating?"

"It's barbeque sauce on toast." He pointed to the bottle next to Rory, lifting his eyebrows. "Do I need to explain to you why that's weird?"

"I was in the mood for barbecue sauce and just eating it with a spoon seemed silly. They put it on pizza, I don't see what the big deal is." Rory argued back, shrugging one shoulder as she continued to munch on her sandwich.

"It's crazy when it's on pizza as well." He smirked. "And how come eating with a spoon is silly but on toast it isn't?"

"You wouldn't understand."

"You'd think I would have accepted by now that, no matter how hard I try, I will never fully understand your logic. Or lack thereof."

"Pft, I make perfect sense." Rory giggled.

"To yourself, maybe."

"Mom gets me too."

"Insanity loves company just as much as misery does." Jess pointed out, opening the fridge door.

"Whatever. Go away and let me eat my silly food."

"If you insist." He placed a kiss on her cheek as he grabbed a soda. "I'll be in the office."

"Go in peace, Michael Scott."

"Lunatic." He kissed her cheek again before heading for the door.

* * *

Looking up from his book, Jess noticed his wife looking at her hand, a sad look on her face.

"What's wrong?" He kissed Rory's temple.

"I had to take my rings off." She pouted. "My fingers are too swollen by the end of the day and it hurts."

"And?"

"It's ugly and empty." She lifted her hand in the air to show him. Taking it in his, he kissed a trail from her finger to her palm, smiling.

"It's only for a while. And it's definitely not ugly."

"I could wear them in the morning since it's not that bad then but I don't want to lose them."

"Sh, it's ok. Whatever doesn't hurt you." Jess leaned closer, kissing her softly.

"But they're my rings. I know it's stupid and it doesn't matter, but I really can't stand not having them. And this woman in the supermarket actually gave me a lecture about young unwed mothers and how they are what's wrong with society."

Chuckling, Jess pushed a strand of hair behind her ear.

"It's not funny."

"Yes, it is."

"No, it's not."

"Slightly funny?" He smirked. "What did you say?"

"That it was none of her business what people did with their lives, young mother are much better than people like her who go around judging others for their decisions and, oh, by the way, I'm 28, married and I really didn't appreciate her tone." Pointing at her sweats, she shrugged. "I really shouldn't have worn this."

"Yes, your nut job shield would have been much better." He smirked again, making her laugh. "You should buy a necklace for your rings. It's not the same, but at least you'll…"

"Already done." She interrupted, showing him her necklace. "Thanks for listening."

"Any time."

* * *

"I'm fat, I'm waddling and I need someone to commiserate with." Rory whined, walking into the inn's kitchen, finding Lorelai and Sookie chatting. "Jess tries but he doesn't really get it."

"Make him gain ten pounds, that should help drive the point across. And carry a live octopus with him at all times."

"Ten? That was the nicest thing anyone has said to me. Ever." She giggled, looking around her. "Is there any decaf?"

"Here, pumpkin." Sookie handed her a cup, smiling. "Do you want something to eat?"

"Chocolate, please."

"I can make you chocolate covered bacon, would you like that?"

"That sounds fantastic."

"Hey, let someone else do that and have coffee with us."

"No way! This is for Rory, I'm not letting anyone else touch it."

"Sookie, you don't have…" Rory protested as well, but the other woman interrupted.

"Quiet, angel and go sit down."

"You are amazing."

"Aw, it's ok." Sookie grinned, rubbing her arm. "Anything you want."

"I like being here."

"Go sit down, I'll bring the food out in a few minutes."

"Are you really, really sure?" Rory hesitated but Sookie smiled, pointing at the door.

"Go!"

Sitting down in the dining room with her mother a few seconds later, Rory sighed, hands rested on her bump.

"Three, two, one, whine!" Lorelai counted down, making her daughter laugh again.

"I don't even know where to begin." She took a deep breath. "My hands and feet are swollen and my shoes barely fit any more but I don't have the energy to go shopping for new ones since the fatigue is back with a vengeance and my stupid back hurts and she's getting too big and her kicks are less sweet, more ow and did I mention the ridiculous heartburn?"

"Rory, it's…"

"Not done. Plus, I feel horrible for thinking all that and feeling this way and complaining because it's not like I want her to be born now and screw it, it's a few more weeks but I am really tired of being pregnant."

"You can always complain. It's not like anyone expects you to be perfect."

"Not perfect, but better than this. Movies have lied to me!" She whined again, sighing. "Every pregnant woman in movies and commercials is always smiling and jumping around freaking fields of flowers or something. I've got to tell you, I don't feel like skipping."

"I don't think the skipping is mandatory." Lorelai giggled. "Honey, everyone feels like that."

"You sure?"

"Oh, yeah. Woman in ad if she is in fact pregnant and not just hiding a pillow under her shirt? Sitting on the couch and putting her feet up the second shooting is over. While hugging a bucket of fried chicken."

"If she's anything like me, she's not, because it makes her heartburn worse. Ice cream maybe." She laughed bitterly, biting her lip at the same time. "I'd give up bacon, but it's the only thing stopping me from going on a homicidal rage most days."

"I know the feeling." Rubbing Rory's arm sympathetically, Lorelai smiled. "I am so sorry you're going through this."

"Tell me it's worth it."

"It it totally worth it."

Looking at her stomach, Rory pretended to frown. "If you dare to be overdue, I will ground you for life. I mean it. No books, no TV, no guys, nothing."

"Don't worry, Brett, she's kidding." Touching Rory's bump lightly, she smiled. "One look at you and she'll forget about all of this."

"I would mention you're completely undermining my authority, but she has no idea what you're saying so I'll give you a pass." Rory smiled at her mother. "You're not lying? Is this really ok?"

"What?"

"Feeling like this?"

"I know I must have ranted to you when I was pregnant with Will."

"Maybe." Rory shrugged. "But I…don't know."

"You figured I was being over dramatic, like I am so often accused of being?"

"And for no reason whatsoever." She snickered. "No. I didn't think of it, that's all."

"You should have."

"Sorry about all the complaining. It's really not all that bad most of the time, I've just had a few bad days and needed to vent."

"You know I'm always here for that."

"Yeah, I know. And appreciate it tremendously." She smiled. "I swear, I feel like I go mental every two weeks and need to rant incessantly about how horrible I feel."

"It's actually every week. At least. If, you know, we're being accurate."

"How about we take a 2004 elections approach to this?"

"Accuracy is overrated, got it."

"Here you go, sweetheart." Sookie smiled, walking to their table and pushing a plate in front of Rory.

"Are you feeding Rory or the entire dining room?"

"She has to eat." Sookie answered Lorelai's comment, sitting down. "What did I miss?"

"Lots of whining." Rory answered, picking up a piece of bacon. "Sookie, this is so good. Thank you."

"Any time, muffin."

"Hey, Sook, wanna go shopping with us after Rory's done eating?"

"We're going shopping?" Rory looked up, confused.

"You can't complain to your mother about not having shoes that fit and then expect her to not do something about it."

"I said they barely fit."

"Same thing."

"We'll just come back with a ton of baby clothes again." Rory pointed out.

"Don't say that like it's a bad thing. As long as we get you shoes, I don't see a problem with a grandmother spoiling her grandchild."

"Other than the fact that said grandchild isn't even born yet and after the shower that the great-grandmother organized, she's set until she starts kindergarten? Me either." She smiled, grabbing another slice of bacon.

"Good, we're in agreement."

"Or we're going to pretend we are, since you ignore my protests anyway."

"Potayto, potahto!" Lorelai laughed. "Sookie, what do you say?"

"I'm in. Lunch is taken care of, Bob can deal with everything until the dinner shift."

"Great. We'll stop for cake."

* * *

"I knew I shouldn't have let you go to the inn." Jess sighed as Rory walked in the diner apartment, holding a couple of bags. "See, Will? This is what happens when your mother and sister are left alone. They buy even more frilly dresses."

"Hey, Sookie was there as well!" She protested, taking up the young boy from Jess as soon as she's put the bags on a chair. "Don't listen to Jess, he's silly, isn't he?"

"Silly!" Will laughed.

"Consensus achieved." She kissed her brother's cheek, smiling at him. "How did the child minding practice session go?"

"Not bad. I think I can finally change a diaper without gagging."

"Progress."

"I like to think so."

"Ok, I have to give him back to mom now. We'll head over to her place and get dinner there, want to come?"

"Pass."

"I don't think he likes us very much, what do you say, Will?"

"Silly!" The toddler laughed again.

"Close enough." She leaned closer, kissing Jess quickly.

"Dirty!" Will interrupted, clapping his hands.

"Lorelai got to him."

"I'm sure Luke is so excited." Rory agreed before Jess covered the young boy's eyes, kissing his wife again.

"Have fun with your mom." Jess smiled. "Careful with him, he tends to kick." He pointed at her bump and Rory smiled.

"I'm good, don't worry."

"I have to worry, it's part of the contract." Ruffling Will's hair, he kissed Rory's cheek. "Bye."

"Bye." She started to head out, before changing her mind. "Wait, shoes!"

"What?" Jess asked, taking the toddler from her arms as she held him out.

"I got new shoes because.…"

"Your feet hurt."

"God, I do whine too much. Yeah, that." She started digging though a bag, pulling out a box. With a quick look at the shoes, she let them fall to the floor as Jess watched, amused.

"What are you doing?"

"I can't bend!" She pointed at her bulging midsection, laughing. Kicking her shoes off, holding on to the chair, she slipped on the new ones with a sigh of relief. "This feels so good."

"I'll kick your ass if you don't put your feet up the second you're at Lorelai's."

"Don't worry about it, Luke's coming home early and he'll glare at me if I dare not to."

"Good man."

"Seriously going now." She took Will from him again, smiling. "Bye."

* * *

"Goodness, you're beautiful!" Liz gushed the next afternoon, hugging Rory. "Don't even dare to argue." She smiled when Rory tried to say something. "Sit, sit." She pointed at the couch, letting go of her and giving Jess a quick hug. "Go on, you too." Liz waited for them to sit down. "Can I get you something to drink? Coffee, water, soda?"

"Soda's fine." Jess nodded.

"Me too."

"You sure? I have decaf if you want some." Liz added.

"In that case, I'll take the decaf." Rory replied, smiling.

"I'll be back in a second."

"I really hate the hugging." Jess smirked, whispering in Rory's ear.

"I know." She placed a kiss on his cheek.

"Jess!" Doula yelped, jumping on the couch next to her brother, wrapping her arms around him. "I missed you!" Moving away from him in the next second, she looked at Rory, mouth opened wide. "Woah…"

"Oh, now I feel awesome. How are you, kiddo?" She laughed.

"I'm good." Letting go of Jess, Doula crawled closer to Rory across his lap, whispering in her ear. "Is the baby still a girl?"

Laughing, Rory nodded. "Yes, she is."

"Are you sure? Because I was at ballet and Lisa said that her mother said she was going to have a baby sister and then the baby was a boy and I really don't want to be an uncle!" She rambled, pulling her knees up and hugging them to her chest, now sitting between the two.

"I'm sure." Rory confirmed, ruffling the girl's hair. "And even if baby was a boy, you'd still be an aunt, not an uncle."

"How?"

"Luke is your uncle even though you're a girl, isn't he?"

"Oh, yeah…" She realized, biting her lip.

"Doula, are you bothering them?" Liz asked, walking back in the room, putting a cup and glass in front of the two.

"I'm not!"

"At least sit down nicely."

"Fine." The young girl drew the word, turning around and sitting on the couch. "Jess, did mom make you sit nicely when you were young?"

"Yes." He lied quickly, smirking. "Otherwise you'll get a hunch and we'll have to find you a bell tower to live in."

"Like the hunchback! I saw the movie last week!"

"Very good. I'll get you the book one day."

"Promise?" She looked at him, a hopeful look on her face.

"Yes. But you'll have to wait until you're older."

"As old as I have to be to read your books?"

"You can probably get away with being a bit younger."

"Ok, Doula, stop driving Jess crazy." Liz put a stop to her questions when she saw the girl was ready to open her mouth again and Doula crossed her arms over her chest, pouting. "How are you two?"

"Pretty much the same." Rory shrugged, smiling. "Jess finished setting up the bassinet and all the stuff that needed assembling we got at the baby shower, so we have nothing but wait now."

"And fight over putting the stupid car seat in or not."

"It's not too soon!" Rory protested, rolling her eyes.

"Yes, it is."

"We are not starting this again!" She sighed, turning her attention back to Liz. "Where's TJ?"

"He went to the store, he should be back any minute."

"Great." Jess mumbled under his breath.

"I'm bored!" Doula announced, jumping off the couch. "Rory, do you want to play with me?"

"Doula, come on, we've talked about you interrupting adults." Liz scolded her. "I don't care if you're bored – either sit quietly or go to your room."

"Mom!" She drew out the word, pouting, her hands on her hips.

"Boy, you're getting a really early start on being a teenager, aren't you?" Jess smirked. "Tell you what – I'll come read with you and we can let them talk in peace."

"Rory, will you come read with us later?"

"Yes." She promised, smiling.

"Ok." Extending her hand, she took Jess's, prancing out of the room with him following.

"Sorry about all of that, she's just so excited about seeing you guys."

"Don't worry about it." Rory smiled, hands resting on her bump. "She is however making me doubt I have enough energy to deal with this one."

"You get used to it. After the sleeplessness, they get more and more hyper and you learn to deal."

"I hope so." She laughed. "She's kicking, do you want to feel it?"

"Yes!" Liz exclaimed excitedly, moving next to Rory on the couch. Taking her hand, she put it on her bump.

"Here."

"That was totally a foot!"

"Yeah, she does that. You can even feel her toes sometimes."

"I keep forgetting how fun pregnancy can be."

"I think I'm going with more weird than fun." Rory laughed.

In the meantime, in Doula's room.

"Hey, Jess?"

"Hm?" He asked as they both sat on the floor in front of the bookshelf.

"Is the baby going to be a lot of work when she's born?"

"So they keep telling me, yes." He smirked, looking at his sister.

"A lot, a lot?"

"Yes."

"So you and Rory are going to be really busy, aren't you?"

"Yes." He confirmed again.

"Does that mean you'll never come and visit us?" She asked, voice barely above a whisper, avoiding his eyes.

"Nah." He smirked, nudging her shoulder with his thumb. "She's got to see her aunt, doesn't she?"

"Yes, she does." She grinned, wrapping her arms around him. "I'm gonna be a really good aunt."

"I'm sure you will be." Picking up a book from the shelf, he put it in front of her. "Want to read this one?"

"Yes." The little girl nodded, letting go and grabbing the book from him.

* * *

"You've been in hyper dad-to-be mode this weekend." Rory teased later that evening as they were back in their bed. Turning to his side, putting his book on the nightstand, Jess smirked, cupping her face in his hand.

"Practicing."

"I think you're just melting." She smiled, kissing his palm.

"I will tickle you." He pointed out.

"Oh, scary. I take it back, you're horrible and mean." Rory stuck out her tongue, motioning for him to move closer and kiss her. "I love you, you big softie."

"Love you too." He whispered back, placing one more kiss on her lips. "I'm excited." Jess admitted before ducking down, kissing her bump. "We get to meet you soon, spawn. And you'll make our lives a living hell while everyone else we know coos over you."

Running her fingers through his hair, Rory smiled, watching as he kept massaging her bump.

"And if your mom doesn't kick my ass, I'll read you _The Hunchback of Notre Dame_ and a lot of other things as soon as you're old enough to not have nightmares. But she's not swaying me from bringing out Hemingway the second I get you alone."

"You have to read her Hemingway."

"What?"

"She's going to hate us for naming her Brett unless she's as insane about that bore as you are."

"See what I have to put with?" He addressed her bump again, smirking. "Though whatever logic your mom uses that means I get to read you Hemingway works for me." Placing one last kiss on her stomach, he moved back up, kissing his wife again. "And now sleep time before you either mock me or start crying."

"Yes." She agreed, nodding. "Good night."

"Night, Ror."


	61. Pack a bag, take a trip

**A/N: I'm awake. And sober. Sort of, anyway. There has been a lot of celebrating in the past couple of weeks as I and most of my friends are now done with university. Hence the ridiculous delay. And this chapter's evil and would not work. Anyways. Onto the actual chapter which I hope you enjoy. Sorry again for the delay. **

* * *

**Pack a bag, take a trip**

"What kind of a mood are you in?" Rory joked, walking into Jess's office. Not getting a reply, she walked up to him and touched his shoulder lightly, making him look at her.

"Sorry." He pushed his headphones down. "I was listening to something."

"Anything good?"

"A podcast some publishing guys in Nevada are putting out."

"Why?"

"Thinking it might be interesting to try and do something similar with Truncheon when we have some time to put into it." Jess shrugged. "I mentioned it to Matt and he seemed cool with the idea and it should be easy enough to get Chris on board. Of course, the concept of having more time is risible, especially with the baby almost here, so damned if I know if we'll ever actually do it."

"For what it's worth, I think it sounds like it could be a really good thing."

"I'm not even done hashing out the details in my head yet. I'll get there."

"I'll help with anything you want me to."

"I know." He smiled, running his hand down her leg. "Thanks."

"Any time." Rory replied. "So you're busy with that?"

"Sort of. Why, do you need something?"

"Nah, I was just thinking I want to pack my hospital bag and wasn't sure if you were going to mock me or not."

"I am going to mock you no matter what."

"I know that, I just wanted to assess how much you were going to mock me."

"I'd say you'll probably get off easy tonight." He smirked, picking up her hand in his and kissing her palm. "Need any help?"

"I'm good. I have it all planned out."

"Even that sentence scares me."

Laughing, Rory shook her head. "You're silly."

"You're mean." He pouted, kissing her bump. "I don't think your mother likes me very much, Brett, or she'd know that being called that is totally ruining my street cred."

"Right. 'Cause you totally have any left, mister married with a kid on the way that is actually doing work he doesn't have to at 7 o'clock on a Friday night."

"That's a really long title."

"Get A4 sized business cards. They'll definitely set you apart from the competition." Ruffling his hair, she smiled, looking at the door. "I should let you get back to that. If I know you well enough, you'll have everything planned out on this by morning."

"Hope not, I'd like to get more than three hours of sleep for a change. Fuck it, it's practice." He laughed, kissing her stomach again.

"But I like you being in bed with me." She pouted slightly.

"Because you have someone on hand to send for water?"

"Yeah, that too." She laughed in reply. "Don't stay up too late."

"Don't pack the kitchen sink."

"You don't get a say in anything relating to that bag, got me? Other than snacks. You should pick your own." She relented quickly.

"I'll defer to your wisdom."

"You sure?"

"Whatever is fine with me. As long as you don't pack it now, I doubt many things last that long."

"Yeah, you're right. I'll try to remember to get you something closer to the day so you don't starve to death or something."

"What medieval hellhole are we going to that doesn't have vending machines? Because I'm not sure I'm ok with you giving birth there."

"I just want to be on the safe side."

"By safe you mean paranoid, right?"

"No." She giggled, shaking her head. "Of course not."

"My bad."

"Right, I was going."

"I'll be here, yell if you need something."

"Jess, headphones." She pointed out, making him roll his eyes at himself.

"Yeah, forgot about that. Come find me then. Or call my phone."

"I'll figure it out, I'm sure." She walked to the door after ruffling his hair one more time, but turned around before she opened it. "Hey, do I tell you enough how proud I am of you for Truncheon and everything you do?"

"Probably." Jess smiled, spinning around in his chair. "Would you have married me if I was still working at Walmart?"

"Yes. I'd live in the street with you if we had to." She smiled back, shrugging. "I'm just so happy for you because you get to do something you love."

"Not love. Tolerate most days."

"Oh, please." Rory giggled in reply. "You love it."

"I seem to remember you were going away."

"I am." She waddled out of the room, still smiling.

* * *

"Pack." Jess smirked, walking in the kitchen a while later, finding Rory looking through the fridge.

"I did."

"Not that. Grab a different suitcase and pack some clothes."

"Why?"

"Because I'm your husband and you must obey me?"

Snorting with laughter, she gave him an incredulous look. "No, really, why?"

"It hurts that you don't take me seriously." Jess smirked. "I want to go away."

"Where to?"

"Anywhere." He shrugged. "Your shower's in a couple of weeks and I've been with you long enough to know you're not going to want to be away from your doctor in the last few weeks, so this is pretty much our last chance to have a grown up couple of days to ourselves. Or almost, but that's more of a technicality that we're going to ignore." Kissing her quickly, he smirked. "Stop thinking, let's go."

"I'll pack, you find us somewhere to go." She nodded, smiling playfully.

"You're not getting the spontaneous thing, are you?"

"It's late, I don't want to spend the whole night driving. Plus last time you decided to be spontaneous, we wound sleeping in what I'm sure was the Bates motel because everything else was booked."

"Oh, and you didn't enjoy it?" He whispered in her ear, kissing her neck gently.

"So not the point!" She blushed. "Just because we spent the entire weekend…"

"Go on, you're a grown-up, you can say it. Naked."

"Go to hell." She glared at him, pushing past him towards the door.

"I even went for the censored version and this is what I get?" He fake pouted, looking at her.

"Yes, it is. Now go book something while I pack."

"Can't you do it while I pack?"

"Right. I completely trust you to pack clothes for me." Rory grinned, leaning against the door frame. "I don't even want to think what you'd consider appropriate clothing for a weekend away."

"I do." Jess laughed, trying to move his hand under her shirt but she quickly slapped it away.

"We're never going to leave if you don't stop that."

"Fine, but if you think we're going to be doing anything else all weekend, you're very mistaken."

Blushing again, Rory kissed him quickly. "I'll pack your stuff as well."

"Thanks."

"Now go!" She laughed pointing at the office door before heading for the stairs.

"Take a bathing suit." Jess smirked on his way to the office, looking after her.

"Jess, I have nothing appropriate."

"Huh. Take an inappropriate one then."

"Jess…"

"Not changing my mind on this one."

"Fine."

"I will check."

"I hate you." Rory laughed, sticking out her tongue before heading up the stairs.

"You're teaching our daughter all the wrong things." He called after her again before closing the door after him, leaving Rory shaking her head, still giggling to herself.

* * *

"God, this is beautiful." Rory took a deep breath, looking out the window. "I'm choosing not to think how much money…"

"Then don't." He smiled, kissing her cheek. "Enjoy being irresponsible for a bit."

"You do bad things to me."

"It's what I'm here for." He moved his mouth to her neck, a hand rested on her hip. "Come to bed, I'm sure it's going to be better in the daylight."

"But…"

"It's cold." He continued kissing her neck, smirking.

"I get the feeling this is less your overprotective side and more your…" She stopped herself, closing her eyes.

"You're some kind of genius, aren't you?"

"I must be."

"So?" Jess whispered again and she turned around, taking his hand.

* * *

"No." He whined the next morning, grabbing her as Rory tried to roll to her back and out of bed. Looking down at his hand, she laughed.

"What, you thought that if you didn't hold me down I'd run? Because I'm pretty sure I'm not able." She pointed at her stomach.

"I'd rather be safe."

"Oh, please, we're a lot of months too late for that one."

"Sh, we're grown-ups, it's legit. We can totally get away with telling people we planned her." Moving closer to her, he leaned on his arm, the other one drawing lines up and down her arm. "Now stop thinking about her."

"Easy for you to say that, she's not kicking you."

"Quiet down, evil spawn, your parents are having adult time." Jess chuckled, leaning down and kissing her bump.

"What do you want to do today?"

"Stay in bed." He shrugged. "I thought I made that clear just now."

"We're on holiday, I want to do things." Rory pouted.

"Fine, but whatever we do, I insist they involve that bathing suit."

"Jess, I'm going to look like a whale. I'll wear it around here to make you happy, but that's it."

"You're fucking gorgeous, stop complaining."

"Aw, I was going to swoon but then you finished that thought." Rory laughed, lifting his hand and placing a small kiss on his palm. "I won't look disgusting in a bathing suit?"

"You're not exactly Carol Yager."

"I feel pretty close."

Serious for a minute, Jess kissed her forehead. "I think you look amazing but, if you'll be uncomfortable, ignore me and wear a muumuu."

"Good to know I have your permission to ignore you." Rory smiled, kissing him. "I'll put a dress over and then see how I feel."

"Sensible compromise. I almost feel like I won this."

"Don't fool yourself." She smiled again, looking over his shoulder at the clock. "Should we go?"

"Too bright outside. We'll get cancer."

"Uh-huh." She nodded, laughing at his silliness.

"I'm sure the Surgeon General agrees with me."

"And this has nothing to do with you not wanting to get out of bed?"

"Nothing at all." He grinned, shaking his head. "Just trying to stay safe. You don't want to die before you have enough time to get back at the kid for all the crap she's putting you through, do you?"

Rolling her eyes, Rory laughed, moving her hand over his chest. "Shut up."

"Gladly." He laughed as well before kissing her.

* * *

Sitting on the beach later that night, Rory sighed happily looking at Jess.

"I'm happy we did this."

"I'm happy you finally went into the water after whining about wanting to do it for ages." He smirked. "I counted the guys that checked you out, by the way. Curious?"

"Right. I'd totally believe you."

"I'm completely trustworthy." He chuckled, leaning back a bit before pushing a strand of hair away from her face. "And you're beautiful."

"I'm really going to miss then after the baby's born." She whispered, blushing from his words.

"What?"

"Being just you and me. I love her and I am so, so excited for her to be here but at the same time…" She trailed off. "Is that bad?"

"No."

"You sure?"

"Yes." Jess smiled, sitting up and kissing her gently. "You're not alone."

"Good to know." She ran her fingers through his hair. "I get so scared sometimes that we're going to lose what we have when she's here and we'll end up being frazzled and tired and we'll never again be like we are now."

"She'll grow up, she won't constantly need us forever."

"Yeah, I know. But what if by the time that happens, we'll be so used to it that it won't change all we'll be parents all the time and never us like we are now?"

"Look at me." Jess cupped her face in his hand. "It will change back, ok? I promise."

"But…"

"Not completely, but it will. Trust me."

"If I say I do, will that validate your belief that you're trustworthy?"

"Likely." He kissed her. "You're scared, I'm scared, but we're not going to fuck this up just because we have a baby."

"I know." She smiled, placing another kiss on his lips. "I'm just irrationally terrified we will."

"Me too."

"Then you should have told me sooner!" She hit his arm lightly, laughing. "I don't even know what's me being crazy and what's a valid thing to feel these days."

"The simplest solution is to tell me everything and I'll let you know."

"Please, you'd mock me forever if you knew half the things that went through my mind."

"Like…?"

"So not telling you." She kissed him, smiling. "Come on, let's get up and walk for a while longer."

"You're making me take a long walk on the beach? Fuck, I really have no street cred left."

"You sat on the beach grumbling all day about the sun and the people and everything. You're good." Rory motioned with his head for him to stand up before extending her arms, waiting for help. Wrapping his arm around her, Jess smiled when she kissed his cheek before leaning closer to his ear. "I love you."

"I love you too."

"Hey, what made you propose this?" Rory asked after a few minutes of silence.

"Don't know. You said packing and it made me think. That's about it."

"Thank you."

"Nah, don't." Jess smiled, kissing her before wrapping his arm even tighter around her.

* * *

"I don't want to go back." Rory whined the next afternoon as they sat in a café, having dessert. "Why don't we live here?"

"Because we have jobs in Philadelphia?"

"Spoilsport." She stuck out her tongue quickly, grabbing another bite of cake on her fork. "How about we move here when we retire? If I haven't replaced you with a hotter model by then."

"Zing. Who says I won't replace you before that happens?" Pointing his finger at her, he smirked. "And don't even try to pout, you started it."

"But…" She drew out the word, pouting before she burst out laughing. "Let's be friends again."

"Only if you stop planning our retirement. I don't want to think about being old."

"You are old."

"You're really not going to play nice today, are you?" Jess smirked, picking up his coffee cup and waving it in front of her. "Real coffee. With caffeine."

"You're going to do that to your pregnant wife? Jerk."

"You love me." He chuckled, kissing her quickly. "How's the cake?"

"Good. Want a bite?"

"Yes. You can feed me, we'll be ridiculously cutesy."

"Here comes the airplane?" She laughed, lifting her fork before putting it in her own mouth. "Wait, no, my cake!"

"You suck at sharing." He smirked again.

"I didn't kicked you out bed last night, I resent that. I can almost deal with you being in our giant bed, but the normal sized hotel room? I got very close to killing you."

"I'm gonna keep quiet on this one."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"That I have nothing but love for you taking over our bed with that giant pillow and waking up every hour to go to the bathroom." Jess laughed, kissing her before she had a chance to reply. "You don't have to tell me off, I know I was a jackass."

"No, you're not." She shrugged. "I'm sorry you're not comfortable, I can go sleep in the guest room or something."

"Shut up."

"Jess, I'm seri…"

"Shut up." He repeated himself, cutting her off. "You're not going anywhere."

"But…"

"You want me to tell you to shut up a third time? 'Cause I'll do it."

"Fine." She smiled, kissing him.

"I like sharing a bed with you, it's nice. Particularly when you sleep naked, but I'll take it at other times as well. And I don't really get to complain, since you've got to be way more uncomfortable than I am."

"Yes, but I have to be, you don't."

"I'm hoping for bonus husband karma for the sacrifice."

"You've got it." She smiled sweetly, running her fingers through his hair.

"Good to know." Looking at her empty plate, he smiled. "More cake?"

"We said we'd leave as soon as we were done."

"No one's making us."

"But we're going to get back late."

"You can nap on the drive back." Jess smiled, placing a soft kiss on her forehead. "What's half an hour longer?"

"You're evil." She giggled, cupping his face in her hand and holding him in place so she could kiss him. "That carrot cake looked very good though."

"I'll go get you some."

"Grab me some decaf as well." She smiled, watching him as he headed for the counter.


	62. A life of crime

**A/N: Ok, one of you is in charge from now on with poking me with a stick when I forget to update. I'm an idiot. But on the plus side, I have a story that I'm very excited about posting almooost ready. I'd tell you what it is, but that'd spoil the surprise. Enjoy.**

* * *

**A life of crime **

"I need to read slower." Rory pouted jokingly, sitting at the kitchen table.

"Why?"

"I'm out of baby books to read."

"Buy more."

"I have, but they're not getting here until Wednesday. And I feel bad reading stuff that's not relating to her." She pointed at her stomach, laughing. "What if the next book has the answer to how to do everything perfectly and make sure she's not a serial killer and I won't read it and therefore we'll have to visit her in jail?"

"At least she has you, you can share your knowledge about life behind bars.

"Hey!" She pouted again.

"You've got to admit, it's sort of funny that out of the two of us, you're the one that's been arrested."

"Hilarious."

"I wish I'd seen it."

"If you'd been there to see it, you could have stopped me from stealing the stupid boat."

"If I'd been there, I would have clocked that idiot in the face. He should have stopped you."

"Jess…"

"Nope. I'm your husband, I'm allowed to hate that fucking jackass."

"You hated him before you were my husband."

"You left me to go back to him. It's my prerogative." He pointed out. Standing up, Rory hugged him, running a hand through his hair.

"I'm sorry."

"Don't be." He smiled, putting the spatula down and giving her a quick kiss. "Your life, you can do whatever you want."

"I wanted you, but you scared me."

"And you loved him."

"Yes. I love you more than I ever did him though." Rory tried to reassure him, a sad smile on her face. "I just…"

"Sh." Jess turned to face her, cupping her face in his hands before kissing her again. "I know. Don't be sad."

"But…"

"I said sh." He smiled, kissing the tip of her nose. "Kid, cheer your mother up for me." He rubbed her stomach with his thumb.

"Delegating your duties to our daughter?"

"Only in the interest of not burning dinner."

"Excuses." She smiled, ruffling his hair before sitting down again. "She won't be a serial killer though, will she?"

"Highly doubt it." Jess replied, focusing on the food in the pan again.

"I'm sure that's what Ted Bundy's parents said." Rory giggled. "When's food gonna be done?"

"Some time in the near future."

"Helpful."

"As always." He smirked. "What time are you seeing the doctor on Thursday?"

"3. Can you make it?"

"Yes."

"You know you don't have to make it to every single appointment, right?" Rory smiled, grabbing a peanut from the bowl on the table.

"Yes."

"Yet you're still coming."

"Yes." He stated.

"I love you."

"I know." Jess smiled, turning off the stove. "Dinner."

* * *

"Hey, Matt." Rory greeted, walking in the Truncheon office on Thursday.

"Whoa." Covering his mouth with his hands, he grimaced. "I didn't mean that in a bad way, I just haven't seen you in a while and you're…"

"About the size of a small country?"

"Nah. You're gorgeous." The man smiled, giving her a quick hug. "Am I forgiven?"

"Always. How's Jane?"

"She's good."

"Tell her I said hi. And you should come for dinner soon."

"Will do. How's my niece today?"

"Kicking, wanna feel?"

"Yeah." Matthew replied enthusiastically and she took his hand, placing it on her bump.

"Matt, hands off my wife now." Jess smirked, walking in the room. "Seriously, doing this in the office I work in is a bit obvious."

"We can't help ourselves." Rory flashed him a smile, waving. "Ready to go?"

"Give me five minutes to reply to an email and I will be."

"I'll continue groping your wife in the meantime." Matt grinned, earning a glare from Jess.

"I will kill you."

"You say that 50 times a day and never do."

"One of these days, I'll run out of patience."

"Okay, Felix, go send your email and stop being mean to Oscar."

"Why do I have to be Felix?"

"Jess!" Rory glared this time, making him smirk.

"Yes, master. Going."

"Can you teach me how to do that?" Matt grinned as soon as Jess was out of the room.

"I think it only works for me."

"Too bad." Moving his hand away, he tilted his head towards a couple of chairs, waiting for Rory to sit down. "She's seriously strong."

"Tell me about it."

"How are you holding up?"

"I'm good. Enjoying it. Or trying to anyway."

"You know that if you need anything…?" He trailed off and Rory smiled.

"I know. Thank you."

"I like helping, it will give me something to hold over your heads when I need baby time and I want to borrow yours."

"I'm sure you won't get many objections from either one of us when it comes to borrowing Brett."

"I better not." He smiled again. "Do you need a drink or something while you wait?"

"I'm good, thanks. I'm not keeping you from work, am I?"

"Nope. I'm on a break."

"He's a lazy fuck that needs to get off his ass right now." Chris mumbled, walking in the room.

"Go to hell, Chris." Matt replied, rolling his eyes.

"I was just in there." He pointed at his office door, waiting for the coffee pot to fill. "Your idiot sent us another manuscript, by the way."

"On one hand, I feel really good at being famous enough to receive unsolicited crap. On the other one, I really wish it was good unsolicited crap."

"Maybe next time." Rory smiled before looking at Chris. "How are you?"

"Hanging in. Will be better as soon as I've had more coffee. I'm sure you know how that feels."

"I've been there."

"Sorry, that wasn't like a completely insensitive thing to say or anything, was it?"

"You're fine, Chris, don't worry."

"Good." He smiled, filling his coffee cup.

"Hey, none for me?" Matthew pouted, looking at his coworker.

"Make your own damn coffee."

"But you love me."

"I loathe you."

"Pumpkin." He laughed.

"Fuck off."

"What's up?" Rory asked, trying to understand the conversation.

"Chris lost a bet so now he has to answer my share of emails, letters and phone calls."

"Ouch." Rory giggled, trying to look sympathetic. "Sorry, Chris."

"Never mind him, it'll teach him not to argue with me."

"No, never mind _him_, I'm better looking."

"She's married, you jackass. That doesn't figure in."

"She's not blind, she can still have an opinion."

"You're both equally dashing and charming."

"Coward." Chris smiled, before letting out a deep sigh. "The gallows are calling my name. Drop by more often, Rory."

"I'll try."

"Don't forget us after the baby's born, we'll cry." He laughed, waving before walking in his office again.

"It's true, we will." Matthew added, grinning.

"I'll see if I can remember."

"You hurt me, cruel woman. I got you a baby present and everything and you say stuff like that."

"Didn't I tell you not to…"

"No. Don't remember anyway. Must be getting old."

"Matt…" Rory drew out his name, smiling. "Thanks."

"Told you, getting in your good graces."

Standing up, she gave him a half hug as he stood up as well. "You're a really nice guy."

"Only with nice people."

"Oh, now you're hugging? Seriously?" Jess chuckled, walking back in the room.

"Next time, we'll be having wild sex against the bookshelves downstairs."

"Say that again. I dare you."

"OK, not that the testosterone display isn't amusing, but we need to get going." Rory waddled to Jess, running her hand over the back of his neck.

"We're gonna be early as usual, don't panic."

"But what if there's traffic?"

Shaking his head, Jess kissed her quickly before waving at Matthew. "Finished all the urgent stuff, I'll proofread the articles for the zine tonight."

"Very productive. See you tomorrow."

"Bye, Matt." Rory waved quickly as they headed towards the stairs. "How was your day so far?" She smiled, squeezing Jess's hand.

"Long. Could have used way more you." He leaned over, kissing her cheek. "I get far too bored all day."

"I'll give you a picture to put on your desk. It'll be adorable."

"Not that pathetic yet, give me a couple more years."

"You better have a picture of the baby or I'll pout." She giggled as they got in the car, buckling their seatbelts.

"I'll be with the baby a lot, I don't need a picture."

"But, Jess!"

"Let me hang on to some things, ok?"

"Oh, fine."

* * *

"Hey, guys." Laura greeted them as they walked in the office. "How are you?"

"Not bad." Rory shrugged. "Fat, tired, nothing new."

"Are you staying off your feet?"

"As much as possible."

"Jess, should I trust her?"

"Yeah." He smirked, nodding.

"Ok then. All good with you too?"

"Can't complain."

"You should, it will make me look much less whiny." Rory smiled, walking to the scale and slipping out of her shoes at the same time.

"But if I do, then you'll tell me I don't get to complain since you're the one who's a million weeks pregnant."

"I have no idea what he's talking about, Laura."

"Men, right?" The doctor smiled, recording Rory's weight in her files.

"I'll shut up now." Jess rolled his eyes, sitting down.

"Sorry." Rory smiled, ruffling his hair as she sat on the consultation table.

"It's ok, I'm used to the abuse by now."

"And taking it so stoically."

"Of course." He smirked, pushing a strand of hair behind her ear as the doctor took out the blood pressure monitor.

"Calm and quiet now, I need to check this."

"Sure." Rory smiled, relaxing her arm. A couple of minutes later, Laura pulled the cuff off, smiling.

"You're looking good. Everything's on track so far. You still eating well?"

"Yep."

"No drinking, no smoking, no drugs?"

"No."

"Sorry, had to ask."

"Are there really people who go _"yeah, shot up last night"_?" Jess asked.

"Not here, but I saw a few when I was working in the free clinic. You'd think they'd lie better." Smiling, she looked at Rory, her hand feeling her stomach. "And since you don't look happy right now, I'll change the subject and tell you everything feels fine here as well. Nothing that raises even the slightest bit of concern."

"Sorry, I don't like the thought that some people do that voluntarily to their babies. Blame it on hormones."

"Don't even get me started with the number of things I cried at during pregnancy." Standing up, she picked up the heart rate monitor, moving it closer. "Go on, babe, calm your mom down with your strong, awesome heart beat."

"This never gets old."

"Nah, it doesn't." Laura smiled as the fast rhythmic noises started coming out of the speakers. Wiping a tear away from the corner of Rory's eye, Jess smiled.

"Sap."

"That's your daughter's heart, you scrooge."

"I know." He whispered again, squeezing her hand.

"I'm not doubting your knowledge of that fact, just your lack of joy over it."

"I'll dance later." He ran his finger over her cheek, smiling.

"Boring pregnancy is proceeding as boringly as before." Laura grinned, stopping the machine. "Heartbeat's good. Now to measure you and then you can pee in the cup and go."

"I feel like an athlete with all the regular testing."

"The only thing in your life that will ever make you feel like that." Jess smirked.

"I think there may have been a sugar rush and a late night viewing of _Chariots of Fire_ that made me think I could run once."

"My bad. You're totally ready for a marathon."

"I like to think so, yes." She grinned, moving to give the doctor a better reach.

* * *

"Why aren't you panicking?" Rory smiled, poking Jess's ribs later that night.

"Was I supposed to?"

"Yes."

"Sorry. Should have sent me a memo or something, I had no idea." He smirked, leaning over and kissing her quickly. "Anyway, you were the one worried she's gonna be a serial killer a few days ago. Why aren't _you_ panicking?"

"I reconsidered it. The list of female serial killers is very short."

"At least she'll go in a blaze of glory."

"We're not that far from New Jersey, she can go killing there, they abolished the death sentence."

"Reading up on this, huh?"

"I was bored of baby development books. Screw it, as long as we don't drop her on her head, we can't do too much damage."

"Have you been replaced with some sort of alien?"

"Very likely." She giggled. "It's all starting to seem so stupid to me. Every book says a different thing and they all claim they're right."

"And?"

"And I'm bored and tired and I'm seriously sick of feeling guilty every time I read something unrelated to the baby."

"You've seriously been feeling guilty? I thought you were kidding."

"Yet you claim you know me."

"Stop stressing." He kissed her forehead again. "Don't keep her in the basement, feed her at regular times, give her books, go to school crap. Not that hard."

"You forgot the part where we teach her how to read all those books."

"I'll start on that the minute she can see properly."

"Can you at least wait until she can walk and talk?"

"No. Nowhere near as important."

"Silly man." She smiled, picking up his hand and bringing it up to her lips. "If mom could raise a kid at sixteen…?"

"We'll be fine." Jess reassured her. "Stop worrying."

"I did."

"You started again."

"Shit happens."

"Don't make me distract you."

"We have to work early tomorrow." She pointed out. "Admit it, we're really not exciting any more."

"You were in bed at 9, at least I lasted until a respectable hour."

"I'm growing a baby."

"That's no excuse, we should be up partying while you can."

"I can't drink and my usual lack of grace when dancing is furthered by having a giant stomach weighing about a million pounds."

"Told you you should have skipped dessert."

"Mean." She laughed, moving her head close enough to kiss him.

"Also, in no way did I mean that you should be up dancing earlier."

"What did you mean then?"

Lifting his eyebrows incredulously, Jess waited for her to catch on.

"Oh." She blushed, biting her lip.

"We have to take advantage, really. We're not getting any for a long time after Brett's born."

"Right, 'cause that will be the only thing on our minds with a newborn at home."

"You're still gonna be hot. I can't help it."

"Uh-huh."

"Listen, I don't care if you're 80 and covered in wrinkles and with gray hair and all that shit – you'll still be the most beautiful woman in the world to me, got it?"

"Jerk, didn't I tell you you can't say stuff like that?"

"Cry and I won't make you breakfast."

"Oh, first making your pregnant wife cry and now threatening to not feed her? I may need to call Taylor's cousin."

"Need saving, huh?"

"Urgently."

"Huh. Maybe I'll tie you down so you can't call."

"Oh, crying, lack of food and restraints? Now I'm really calling them."

"Shut up." Jess smirked, covering her mouth with his.

"Freedom of speech is guaranteed under article 19 of the _Universal Declaration of Human R…_"

"Rory."

Laughing, she kissed him back, sliding her hand under his shirt. "Shutting up now."


	63. Game of Pong

**A/N: You know how I was all done with school? I may not be. Voluntarily. And I have another exam which I need to cram for and yes, I'm a masochistic idiot. Send me some review love, pretty please. **

* * *

**Game of Pong**

"I can't do this." Rory let out a deep breath as Lorelai opened the door to her house late Wednesday evening.

"Rory, babe, what's wrong?" The older woman sighed, letting her daughter inside the house before wrapping her arms around her in a hug. "Everything ok?"

"Yes. Except for the fact that I cannot have this baby, it's all fine." She ranted again, not letting go of Lorelai. Walking to the doorway, Luke gave hid wife a questioning look and she waved him away quickly.

"What happened, hon?"

"I got pregnant!" She pulled away, marching to the living room with her mother following closely behind her. "I plan things. Always have. Everyone knows that about me! I don't do spontaneous. So how did I not think to make damn sure this!…" She pointed at her bump, cringing. "Wasn't going to happen? I cannot give birth. No way. It's gonna hurt and suck and the tearing that no one ever tells you is a possibility and this must be some kind of idiotic cosmic joke and if one more person asks me if I'm excited since the due date is a month away, I will throttle them."

Lorelai grimaced, trying to stop herself from laughing. "Sorry." She managed to squeeze out before starting to giggle.

"This amuses you?"

"No, but you marching around the living room in fuzzy slippers and a dress with an elephant on it does. Not to mention the visual of you jumping at someone's throat in that."

"It's a t-shirt. I got it from one of those shops for tall people." Rory shrugged, looking down. "It's the only thing that's comfortable any more."

"Honey, does Jess even know you're here or did you freak out and drive straight over?"

"Jess is at work." She let out a breath, sitting down on the couch next to Lorelai. "Why didn't I plan this?"

"Because you can't plan accidents. It's not how it works."

"But…"

Wrapping her arm around Rory's shoulders, Lorelai smiled as she hugged her again. "You're gonna be just fine."

"I want to go back and have a choice, not be just fine. At least that way when I freak out about having to give birth, I can point out to myself that I decided to do this."

"You decided to keep her."

"It wasn't much a choice. I've wanted her from the moment I knew she existed."

"Then?" Lorelai smiled reassuringly again, waiting for the words to sink in.

"You're making me stop being angry again. I don't like you." Rory laughed, leaning back against the couch. "I hate the stupid hormones."

"I know you do."

"And being fat. I want to wear pretty clothes again and not look like a whale all the time. And I want a drink and a cup of coffee. I could kill for a cup of Luke's coffee."

"Rory, stop beating yourself up over it and have one. It's fine, I promise."

"But…"

"The doctor gave you her go ahead, right?"

"Yes." She nodded, biting her lip as a glimmer of excitement appeared in her eyes.

"So there's nothing stopping you. I'm not saying you should drink a bathtub full, but one cup will make absolutely no difference for Brett."

After a moment of hesitation, her face lit up at the prospect. "Can you…"

"I'm on it." She laughed, standing up and walking towards the kitchen. "Luke, can you please make us coffee."

"On it." He shrugged, walking in the room with two empty mugs and putting them on the table. "Hi, Rory. It'll be ready in a second."

"Sorry."

"For?"

"Making you cower in fear in the kitchen." She giggled, looking at her stepfather.

"I wasn't…uh…I was…checking…"

"He still can't lie." Rory grinned at Lorelai and she nodded.

"He tries, bless him."

"I'll be in the kitchen."

"And I made him hide again." Rory laughed before looking at her mother. "I need this kid out of me now before I terrify everyone I know."

"A minute ago you didn't want her to be born ever and now she can't be out soon enough?"

"Yes. And you were doing the same thing while pregnant with Will so you don't get to mock me."

"Not even a bit?"

"No."

"Can I at least remind you for the millionth time that it is worth it?"

"That you can."

"Really, it's why so many women have more than one baby. You forget all the bad bits once you have that kid in your arms. If it wasn't true, no one would have sibling."

"Except for adopted ones. Or half-siblings with the same father."

"Yeah, ok, except for them."

"I'm still scared." She acknowledged with a shrug.

"I'd question your sanity if you weren't."

"I didn't know anything could ever make me feel so conflicted. My brain is like a game of Pong. The only thing I know is that I really want her to stop growing." She paused for a second as a look of horror appeared on her face. "No, wait, she can't. She has to keep growing. I want to stop getting bigger."

"I'm glad you're at least sure of knowing that."

"Shut up." Rory joined her mother's laughing. "I'm scared."

"I know." Lorelai replied, rubbing her arm in a comforting manner. "You're gonna be fine." Realizing the empty mugs were still on the table, she glanced towards the kitchen. "I'm gonna go get the coffee since Luke seems to have forgotten the way. Call Jess, he'll be worried out of his mind if he gets home and you're not there."

"I will."

Squeezing Rory's arm one more time, Lorelai stood up, leaving the room. Dialing Jess's number as soon as she was alone, Rory waited for the phone to ring, rubbing her stomach, hoping to calm the baby down.

"_I'm gonna be a bit longer, sorry."_ He mumbled when he picked up, chewing a pen between his teeth.

"It's not why I called."

"_Is everything fine?"_ He asked, a panicked tone to his voice, throwing the pen on the desk.

"Yes. Calm down."

"_Good." _He let out a sigh of relief. _"Ok, what's up?"_

"I'm at mom's."

"_So everything's not fine, you were pacifying me. What went wrong?"_

"I don't know. I got scared and I needed her so I drove over." She sighed, pushing her bottom lip out slightly in a pout.

"_Do you want me to take the train over and meet you there later?"_

"Have you gone crazy?"

"_Trying to keep up."_ Jess smirked, hoping to lighten the mood. _"Ror, you call me to tell me you're two hundred miles away because you got scared and you think I'm not going to want to be with you?"_

Pursing her lips together, she tried to hold back emotional tears. "I'm fine now. Or getting there. We'll have some coffee, talk for a bit and then I'm going to fall sleep on the couch or go to the diner and be back in the morning."

"_At least you're not being an idiot and suggesting that you drive back tonight."_

"You kidding me? I'm so tired the only thing keeping me awake is the promise of Luke's coffee. And either him or mom would tackle me if I tried to run."

"_Hell, Will would probably take you down."_ He smiled, running a hand through his hair. _"Take it easy for the rest of the night."_

"I will."

"_Promise."_

"I promise." She smiled, shaking her head. "Things are really slow so I took tomorrow morning off work. I'll come pick you up from your office for the doctor's appointment."

"_Are you sure you'll be ok?"_

"Yes."

"_And you don't want me over tonight?"_

"No." Rory nodded. "But please get some sleep."

"_Much easier without you hogging the bed."_

"Hey!" Rory whined jokingly. "Mean."

In the meantime, in the kitchen.

"She won't bite." Lorelai grinned, kissing Luke quickly.

"I wanted to give you some privacy." He grimaced, wrapping an arm around her.

"How's Will?"

"Sound asleep. He got that from you."

"Please, you could probably sleep through a hurricane." She picked up a new cup from the cupboard and filled it with coffee, peering into the living room to see Rory still on the phone.

"How is she?" Luke asked, concern in his voice.

"She'll be fine. It's nerves over the baby, nothing new."

"Anything I can do?"

"Coffee's plenty." Lorelai hugged him, putting her cup down. "It really sucks that I can't wave a magic wand and make it all better for her though, you know?"

"Yeah." He nodded, kissing her forehead while his hand played in her hair. "How about some food, I can make something."

"What?" She pulled away.

"I don't know, I feel useless standing here."

"I'll see what she wants once she's off the phone. She should probably eat something, I don't think she had dinner."

"I can go to the diner and make burgers. Anything, ok?"

"You're seriously going to fire up the…know what, forget I asked." She rolled her eyes. "I love you." Kissing him quickly, Lorelai looked at the door. "I'm gonna go back."

"Let me know about the food."

"I will." She flashed him a big smile before grabbing the coffee pot and walking in the living room, finding Rory putting her phone down. "All good?"

"Yeah."

"I have coffee." She waved the pot around before filling the two cups. "Luke offered to make food, is there anything you're in the mood for?"

"Chinese." She grinned, picking up the cup. "Can we order some?"

"You have to ask?"

* * *

"Mom?" Rory asked, her voice barely above a whisper.

"What's up?"

"How did you and Luke do it?"

"Do what?" Lorelai put the food container down, guessing a serious conversation was to follow.

"Stay…you." She shrugged, biting her lip again. "After Will was born. I'm so scared Jess and I are going to change or won't have time or...everything, I suppose."

"Aw, honey…" She smiled, smoothing her daughter's hair down. "Don't worry about that."

"But…"

"Yes, your lives are going to change and it's going to take some time to adjust. But you and Jess love each other so much you really shouldn't even think about stuff like that."

"So you're going to be of absolutely no help?"

"No, I'm giving you my honest opinion. If you want help, the only advice I have is to go out for dinner without Brett as soon as you feel good with leaving her alone."

"I heard the state frowns upon kids being left alone."

"Not if they're over 12." Lorelai snickered. "Leave her with me or Matt or any of the other million people you have lined up to babysit and take some time to yourselves. It will suck the first couple of times you do it and your conversation will be entirely about her, but it gets better."

"That's it?"

"There really isn't anything more I can tell you."

"You're useless sometimes, you know that?" Rory smiled.

"Sorry, I'll get a magic wand or something." She replied, grinning as well. "I don't think you have anything to worry about. Being parents doesn't automatically mean you won't be yourselves."

"It feels like that sometimes."

"I promise you it's not."

"If I find out you're lying, I will be mad."

"Please, I can't lie to you about stuff like that. It's got to be somewhere in the motherhood rulebook."

"Let me know when you get your copy."

"Will do."

* * *

"I still can't believe you're old enough to have a baby, you know that?" Lorelai mused out loud, glancing at her daughter.

"Seriously?"

"I probably should, but I really can't."

"I'm 28."

"I know, I know." She whined. "I don't want you to be."

"Mom…"

"Sh, honey, let me complain. This isn't even about you making me a grandmother – but, by the way, shame on you!" Lorelai snickered. "You're…my baby. You can't be old enough to have your own baby." Wiping her cheek, she tried to smile again. "Plus, it was just the two of us for so long that the more people we add to the mix, the more I'm scared we're never going to have that."

"You started it, you got married."

"You left me, I had to find someone!"

"That's no excuse."

"Oh, so you'd rather your poor mother was alone."

"Well, if I didn't find a job or get married, I would have needed a place to live. And I couldn't crash with you and Luke, now could I?"

"Yes, you could."

"Not without it being awkward."

"You have first dibs on the house. I would have made him stay at the diner."

Laughing, Rory shook her head. "I'm sure he would have loved that."

"He doesn't get a say, you were here first."

"Good to know."

"In fact, I'll kick him out immediately and you and that baby can move in with me."

"Mom, Will is my old room. Even if you kick Luke out, it still wouldn't work."

"You can have the living room. Or kitchen."

"Yeah, I'll pass." Rory shook her head.

"Ungrateful, that's what you are."

"Yes."

"See if I ever try to do something nice again." Lorelai announced, turning the movie back on.

* * *

"I can't sleep." Rory whined as soon as Jess picked up the phone. "Mom crashed a while ago and I'm bored."

"_So you decided to wake me up?"_

"There's no way you would be sleeping at midnight. I doubt you even got home more than five minutes ago."

"_You have a point."_ He replied after a short pause, smirking. _"What's up?"_

"Nothing. I've finally discovered the reason people don't have caffeine in the evening."

"_You're on a caffeine high? The world's coming to an end."_

"Hilarious." She pouted, pushing the curtain to the side and looking out the window. "Kirk's doing something in the town square."

"_What?"_

"Uh…I have no idea. I think he's trying to stand on his head, but I could be wrong. I'm unsure of the reason as well."

"_Attempting to live like a bat for a week and didn't get a permit from Taylor to hang off a tree?"_

"Someone told him people in Australia are upside down and he took it literally?"

"_You could open the window and ask him."_

"That would be way less fun." Letting the curtain fall again, she walked around the room, picking up a glass of orange juice. "I feel really pathetic over missing you."

"_Whatever I say will get me chastised for being mean to my pregnant wife, won't it?"_

"Not if it's something nice."

"_I could try." _He smirked, sitting down on the bed. _"Bed is as boring as I anticipated it to be without you."_

"Was that your something nice?"

"_It was my something honest."_

"I'll take it."

"_Good, because I'm too beat to think of anything more."_

"Work that bad?"

"_Long."_ Jess ran a hand through his hair, sighing. _"Matt's the only one driving up with us on Friday."_

"Couldn't convince Chris to come provide some support?"

"_I think he'd rather be shot in the head with a nail gun repeatedly instead of coming to a baby shower."_

"Mom may disown him."

"_He'll live." _

"Not if she gets her hands on him." Rory joked, before checking the time. "I should let you go to sleep."

"_Not if you're bored, I can stay up a while longer."_

"Don't worry. I'll read for a while."

"_Call me back if you still can't sleep."_

"I will."

"_Say goodnight to the baby for me."_ Jess smiled, turning off the bedside lamp. _"Night."_

"Night, Jess. I love you."

"_Love you too."_

Putting the phone down, Rory finished her drink and set the glass in the sink. Walking to the window again, she checked to see if Kirk was still there but couldn't see him, so she pushed her shoes off with her feet before lying down on the bed. Letting out a sigh of relief, she grabbed the sheet and pulling it over her body.

"I know, kid, I miss your dad too." She smiled, pushing back against the foot poking her. "But there's no need for you to be rowdy and keep me awake." Getting another kick in return, she laughed, picking up her book. "Fine, I'll read to you, but you have to promise never to tell great grandma I let you anywhere near this sort of filth before your 18th birthday." She commented one more time before opening the book and starting to read out loud.


	64. This is Stars Hollow

**A/N: Reviews are like candy, rainbows and puppy cuddles! Share the love. **

* * *

**This is Stars Hollow**

"Lorelai! Rory! Come in!" Emily greeted them on Friday evening, quickly whisking them inside the house.

"Sorry we're late, grandma, I asked mom to wait for me to get here from Philadelphia."

"Don't worry about it, I understand. Are you alone tonight?"

"Yes, just us." Lorelai confirmed, handing the maid her purse as Rory did the same. "Luke and Jess stayed in Stars Hollow to help set up the party tomorrow."

"I thought the town was throwing it." Emily remarked, guiding the girls to the living room and pointing at the couch. "Drinks?"

"Water, please." Rory smiled.

"Martini for me, mom." Lorelai leaned back on the couch, fixing her skirt. "The town is throwing the party, Luke is just helping with the food. We have no other events planned for June, so it's the official monthly bash."

"It's sort of mind blowing that they're going to this much trouble for me."

"It's half because you're awesome and half because we need a good excuse for a party."

"You are coming, right, grandma?"

"Your grandfather and I will stop by, yes. Not for long though, we have another function to attend."

"However long you can make it is fine, I'd just like to see you both there." Rory smiled, taking her glass from Emily before the older woman sat down.

"Speaking of dad, where is he?" Lorelai asked, sipping from her glass.

"On the phone. One of the club members can't pay his fees and they're trying to decide what they should do."

"My, how scandalous!"

"Lorelai."

"What did I do now?" She protested, sighing.

"Nothing. Nothing at all." Emily replied, picking up her glass again. "How's William?"

"He's fine, sleeping soundly when I left. Matt was looking after him."

"Matt?"

"You've met him a few times, grandma, he works with Jess." Rory chimed in.

"Ah, yes, right."

"He hasn't been sleeping well lately so I didn't want to wake him up once he was finally down."

"Everything alright?"

"Yeah, just a growth spurt of something." Lorelai shrugged. "You'll experience that fun soon enough." She grinned at Rory.

"Can't wait."

"How are you doing, Rory?"

"I'm more excited than I was two days ago." She smiled. "Still a bit worried but I'm sure I'll be fine. Somehow."

"You have nothing to worry about." Emily reassured her with a smile. "Let me know if we can help with anything."

"You've done far more than enough, grandma."

"I've done nothing." She waved it off. "I'm going to go see what's holding up Richard, we should have started dinner already."

"We'll be here." Lorelai smiled, drinking again. "Have I told you how much I love you being pregnant?"

"Designated driver?"

"Oh, yeah. Makes these dinners so much easier." She snickered, surreptitiously refilling her glass.

* * *

"Oh, my god." Rory exclaimed the next afternoon, walking out of the diner, looking at the decorated town square. "This is insane." She giggled, looking around her, trying to take it all in, from the balloons and streamers hanging on the trees to the crowd of people.

"I did stop them from putting a throne for you in the gazebo."

"I want to think that's a joke." She laughed, squeezing Jess's hand. "Are you able to deal?"

"Hey, your party, I'll stand in the sidelines. No one cares about me anyway."

"You're half responsible for that kid, you should get some credit." Lorelai noted.

"If that's your attempt at telling me I have to wear a sash, nice try. No cigar."

"I think you should." Matthew chimed in, holding Will. "It's only right."

"Stay out of it." He smirked, trying to sound threatening.

"Rory!" Taylor called, waving her closer to him. "Good, you're here."

"I can't miss my own baby shower, no matter how over the top it is."

"This?" He looked around him, confused. "How is this over the top?"

"Never mind, it was stupid as soon as I said it. I lived here ling enough to know better."

"Right, Jess, you have to…"

"That sentence better end with do absolutely nothing but be here, Taylor."

"But…" The man protested and Jess let out a breath.

"I can rephrase that to make it clearer if you want."

"Fine, whatever." Starting to walk towards the gazebo, he held on to Rory's arm. "Couldn't you have married a nice man? Oh, well, what's done is done." Pointing at the stairs, he clapped his hands a few times, trying to get everyone's attention. "Rory is here, everyone, we can start the party."

Blushing furiously, she looked down, waving. "Hi, everyone. Right." She braced herself, taking a deep breath. "I just…really can't believe you're all here for this. Thank you so much. I made really wonderful memories growing up here and I really do hope Brett will love it as much as I do. I'm definitely signing her up now for the part of Thanksgiving pilgrim, that I know. Thank you again." Wiping her eyes, she flashed the crowd another big smile before stepping off, hurrying to Lorelai and Jess.

"You ok?" Jess smiled, rubbing the small of her back.

"Yeah. Emotional, that's all."

"Aw, it's ok, hon." Lorelai reassured her. "Let's go get you some food to distract you."

"The Gilmore answer to everything." Jess remarked, smirking.

"I like that you at least acknowledge that, despite getting her to change her last name, but she's still a Gilmore." Lorelai shot back.

"I didn't…"

"You're to blame for everything." Lorelai cut him off, laughing and he rolled his eyes.

"Apologies, I keep forgetting."

"I tell him often enough, mom, I promise." Rory chimed in, brushing her fingers over his hand.

"That she does."

"Good, it's not all wasted."

"So, food?" Rory asked and Lorelai nodded.

"Definitely. Jess?"

"Pass, I'll go find Matt or something."

"He's over there." Lorelai pointed to a bench. "Will's with him, it takes about 25 years until you get to relax and not worry about where your kids are at all times."

"Good to know." Jess replied, placing a quick kiss on Rory's cheek. "Find me if you need help."

"I will. Back at you."

"Thanks."

* * *

"Rory!" Liz called a while later, making her way to her. "Hi!" She greeted her, wrapping her arms around her in a hug. "How are you?"

"I'm great. You?"

"Also great. Let me look at you." She grinned, pulling back. "You look amazing. How are you feeling?"

"Fat." Rory laughed. "Jess is around, do you want me to find him?"

"I was just with him, he's playing with Doula." She waved it off. "How is everything with you? I need information, Jess said I should ask you."

"I'm great, Liz."

"Excited?"

"Oh, yeah."

"I'm sorry, you must have had this conversation about 50 times already today."

"About that, but you get a grandmother-to-be pass." She laughed, rubbing her bump. "Plus if you're here, you can distract me from my current kill Kirk mission, as he tried to initiate a guess the bump size game."

"He never learns, does he?"

"It's part of his charm."

"Rory! Hi!" Doula hopped to their side, her hand holding Jess's. "When's the baby gonna be born?"

"Next month."

"So I'm gonna be an aunt next month?"

"Yes, you are."

"And can we come see her after she's born?"

"I…uh…we'll bring her here, anyway." She saved it quickly, looking at Jess. "I don't know how up for visits we'll be with a small baby." She tried to come up with an excuse, more for Liz than Doula. Seeing her friends running up to a pinata, Doula looked at her mother, asking for permission and Liz smiled, nodding.

"Go."

"Bye!" She yelled, running to join them.

"How grateful are you going to be when I tell you one of Kirk's earliest drafts for the pinata involved it looking like a pregnant belly?" Lorelai snickered, walking up to the small group. "Hey, Liz."

"Hi."

"Eternally." Rory laughed. "This is why Kirk shouldn't be involved in anything."

"It's the first time he was allowed to plan and be in charge of an event completely on his own, the power may have gone to his head." Shaking her head quickly, she smiled apologetically. "Sorry, I'm taking over a conversation I'm not even supposed to be in, as I'm only here to kidnap Rory since she's needed to be the judge of the play dough baby contest."

"My work is never done." She sighed jokingly. "We'll catch up later, Liz?"

"Definitely. Go, I see some cotton candy that's calling my name."

"I'm guessing you're going to pass?" Rory looked at her husband and he nodded.

"Ten points for a correct guess."

"You're missing all the fun." She giggled, kissing his cheek quickly before looking at her mother. "Lead the way."

"Does this mean I get to bug you for a bit, now that Doula isn't here to demand your full attention?" Liz addressed her son and he shrugged.

"I won't run."

"How are _you_ doing with the baby being almost here?"

"I'm good."

"You know I'm more than happy to help with anything you need, right?"

"I know."

"And you'll let me know if there is something you need?"

"I will." Shoving his hands in his pockets, Jess looked around, trying to find a way to escape. "I'm going to go get a burger, can I bring you something?"

"I'm okay, thanks. The cotton candy's in the opposite direction."

"Ok. I'll see you later." He mumbled, heading towards the hot dog cart.

* * *

"Hi, Michel. I didn't think you'd come." Rory walked up to the man, waving.

"Your mother used her really annoying voice."

"Aw, I'm sorry."

"You do seem broken hearted about it." He scoffed, handing her a neatly wrapped package. "Here."

"Michel, you didn't have to get me anything."

"Did I mention the annoying voice?"

"Thank you." She gushed, accepting the gift. "It's very sweet of you and I wouldn't begrudge it if you left immediately."

"Oh, and here I was worried." He replied sarcastically, rolling his eyes. "Your grandmother is here? This may have been worth postponing my yoga session after all." He suddenly perked up seeing the older woman walking towards them.

"Rory, what are they do over there?" Emily waved her hand to indicate a group of people.

"I think that's the 'pin the diaper on the baby' game, grandma. It's more of a baby themed carnival than a traditional baby shower." Rory tried to explain.

"This is absurd."

"This is Stars Hollow." Rory giggled, not knowing what else to say.

"Michel, I'm sorry, I didn't see you. How are you?" The older woman directed her attention to Michel.

"I'm very well. You?"

"I'm fine, thank you." Turning back to Rory, Emily sighed. "Did your mother sanction this…thing?"

"I don't know, grandma, I wasn't told anything about it until today. How about I got get you a drink while you relax?"

"But…"

"I know it's not exactly to your tastes, but it's fun. I'm really enjoying it and I love that this many people came just to celebrate Brett." She rubbed her bump pointedly.

"Yes, it is a nice gesture." Emily conceded.

"So…drink?" She offered again, hoping to appease the woman even more.

"A drink would be good."

"Ok, let me go find you something that isn't Miss Patty's punch." She replied with a grin. Walking up to her mother, she rolled her eyes. "Grandma's here, she's driving me crazy, help me find her something to drink."

"This way." She directed her towards a cart. "What's up?"

"Nothing out of the ordinary. Why do you have wine hidden in there?"

"I assumed they'd be coming." Lorelai shrugged. "As much fun as it would be seeing mom on punch, I don't think my psyche can take it."

"True."

"Let me go give her this, you relax for a bit instead of letting her get to you. Find Jess, give him a hug." She advised her daughter with a smile.

"Mom, I can…"

"Sh, you're pregnant, getting stressed is bad." She snickered, closing the bottle again and hiding it. "Plus I don't want to risk letting you near booze, you haven't had any in months, I don't know what you're capable of."

"This is ridiculous!" Rory called after her mother, laughing. Shaking her head when Lorelai was too far away, she scanned the place, heading off towards Jess as soon as she found him. "I've been told to hug you." She smiled, placing a quick kiss on his cheek as he wrapped an arm around her.

"Something wrong?"

"Nah, grandma's here, mom overreacted."

"Will saying 'as usual' get me kicked to the couch tonight?"

"Maybe."

"Good thing I asked first then." Jess smirked, kissing her. "How's the baby treating you?"

"She's ok. I think I'm beyond the point where she can be good."

"How long until the "just be born already, you evil spawn"point?"

"I'm gonna say two weeks. She's full term after that, no matter what the stupid due date calculations say. Don't even dare tell me otherwise."

"I wouldn't." He chuckled, placing another kiss on her lips. "Has anyone bugged you about sitting down in the past ten minutes?"

"Three people."

"Did you listen to any of them?"

"Yes. Mostly because Luke threatened to not give me any more food if I didn't sit down while he made it."

"Good man."

"Completely overprotective."

"Same thing."

Rolling her eyes, Rory ran a hand through his hair. "I should go find grandma again as she's bound to throw a fit if I don't."

"Your grandfather's here too, he was looking for you."

"Thanks, I'll find him in a minute." She smiled, kissing him before heading back to find her grandmother.

* * *

"I can't believe this is still going." Rory sighed, sitting on a bench next to Lane. "Where are the boys?"

"Zack took them to home. Bed time was a while ago." Lane gushed. "How are you holding up?"

"Tired. I think it may be my bed time too."

"Yeah, I remember the tiredness. I was in bed most of the time and I still couldn't get enough sleep with all the kicking."

"I want to gloat about only having one baby, but I get the feeling that would be mean. I'll revel silently in knowing it could be worse."

"Sounds like a plan." Looking at her best friend, Lane smiled. "You know I think you're going to be a great mom to that baby, right?"

"I hope so." Rory admitted. "If I'm half as good as you, I'll be alright." Seeing Lane open her mouth to protest, she grinned. "Nope, you're not allowed to argue."

"Fine." Lane gave up with a nod. "Can I at least volunteer to run away with you if you ever feel like doing so?"

"We'll share a house."

"Just like old times."

"Any chance you feel like having another kid soon so Brett can have a best friend that's close to her age and related to you?"

"Sorry."

"It was worth a try." Rory smiled, yawning. "I really should head back to the diner before I fall asleep on here. Camping may be a great pastime, but not for me. Lunch tomorrow?"

"You're on."

"I'll come pick you up."

* * *

"Did you have fun?" Jess smirked, looking up fro his book as Rory walked in the apartment.

"When did you sneak away?"

"Couple of hours ago."

"You'd think someone would have noticed." She replied, sitting down on the edge of the bed.

"They were too busy fawning over you." Jess moved from his spot, leaving his book behind and placed a kiss on her shoulder. "So…the madness?"

"I loved every minute of it."

"Good."

"I am however ready to collapse and die now."

"Should I stand back?"

"Might be wise." Pouting, she turned her head to look at him. "Why didn't you remind me to brush my teeth before sitting down?"

"Screw teeth, no one needs them."

"Oh, you'd still love me if I was toothless?"

"Think about what you just asked for a second and then tell me if I can answer it." Jess smirked, cocking an eyebrow. Blushing, Rory burst out laughing.

"You're a pig."

"You make it too easy." He kissed her neck, running a hand down her back. "Need help getting back up?"

"I'll do it." She smiled, pushing herself up with a grunt. "Jess…?" She poked her head out of the bathroom a couple of minutes later, holding her toothbrush in her left hand.

"Hm?"

"Thanks."

"For?"

"Not looking too bored all day even when you got congratulated for the millionth time."

"I'm sure I would have been killed if I'd looked anything less than thrilled."

"Probably. Not by me, but everyone else…yeah, death." She laughed.

"It wasn't that bad." Jess admitted. "It made you happy, I can't complain too much about it."

"Your dad's a sap." Rory grinned again, poking her stomach.

"Five minutes ago I was a pig."

"Things change, get over it."

"Come over here and I'll show you how quickly they can change back."

"Give me a minute." She nodded playfully before putting her toothbrush back in her mouth.


	65. Cyanide and a teaspoon of sugar

**A/N: Review, pretty please. You all rock my very awesome purple socks. **

* * *

**Cyanide and a teaspoon of sugar**

"Hi!" Rory greeted the two young boys as they opened the door to Lane's house the next day.

"Aunt Rory!" They exclaimed in unison, hugging her.

"How are you, guys?"

"I'm good."

"I'm good too!" Steve grinned, showing off his teeth. "My tooth fell off last night!"

"Hey, mine fell last week!" Kwan quickly cut him off, opening his mouth too.

"Did the Tooth Fairy visit?"

"Yeah, I got a dollar!"

"So did I!" Steve glared at his brother. "Aunt Rory, how did the baby get in there? Did you eat it?" He pointed at her bump, an inquiring look on his face.

"Don't be stupid, mom told you how babies are made!" Kwan interjected before Rory could reply.

"Mom, Kwan called me stupid!"

"Kwan, apologize to your brother immediately." Lane appeared from the bedroom, a frazzled look on her face. "Hey, Rory. Give me a second."

"We don't have to go if you're too busy."

"You kidding me?" The other woman laughed, shaking her head. "Zack, I'm leaving, you're in charge." She called behind her before walking up to the boys, putting a hand on each of their shoulders. "Did you apologize?" She looked at Kwan and he sighed.

"I'm sorry."

"Like you mean it." Lane scolded him again.

"I shouldn't have called you stupid and I'm really sorry I did." He recited before looking at his mother. "Better?"

"Don't know, ask Steve."

"Can I play with your Legos?" Steve looked at his brother and he nodded.

"Yes."

"We're good."

"Good." Lane nodded, kissing the boys' heads. "Go find dad and tell him I said he has to watch you."

"I'm on it already, babe." Zack walked in the room, holding a guitar in his hands. "Have fun." He kissed his wife's cheek and she smiled, messing his hair.

"I'll see you all later." She waved them quickly, ushering Rory out the door. "Sorry about that." She laughed, when they were outside.

"Don't worry about it."

"Did you get a word in?"

"A couple."

"That's more than people usually get. They must really like you." Pulling her rumpled sleeve down, she looked at Rory. "Where are we going? _Luke's_?"

"Nah, after yesterday I'm really not sure I'll ever want a burger ever again. Or until I'm back in Philly." She laughed, shaking her head. "Want to drive to Hartford? We can have lunch and then look around the mall or something?"

"As long as we make the obligatory stops to baby shops, I'm game."

"I do need some sort of closet organizing thingy."

"Settled then." Lane nodded once. "You know you don't get to complain and stop me when I try to buy Brett clothes, right?"

"Lane, we have…"

"You can never have too many clothes. There's a lot of puke coming your way. Trust me, I've been there." She laughed as they got in the car.

* * *

"Do I even dare ask how you're doing?" Lane asked after they were seated in a restaurant.

"I'd really rather you didn't." Rory laughed. "…Actually can I complain about something first and then we can talk about everything else under the sun?"

"I'm here to listen." She reassured her friend. "What's up?"

"Sex." Rory sighed, dropping her head in her hands. "I need a reminder that there's going to be a time when it's not so freaking complicated. Because right now? It sucks."

"No pun intended?" Lane chimed in, making Rory burst out laughing.

"That's one way to stop a rant." She replied, taking calming breaths after a few seconds of giggling.

"Not my intention, carry on."

"It's just so annoying to have to work around this…" She pointed at her stomach, cringing. "…And the tiredness and all that fun stuff. Don't get me wrong, I love that Jess is still interested in me in that way, but…ugh. So frustrating."

"Do you want commiseration, a gentle kick or was getting it all out enough?"

"Any. All." Rory pouted. "The last one, probably."

"Brett will be born soon and this won't be an issue anymore."

"That's it, I'm not having any more kids." Biting her lip, she looked at Lane. "How do you and Zack find time for…stuff?"

"We make time." She shrugged. "They sleep a lot when they're young. In batches, sure, but a lot. It gets harder when they're old enough to walk, but that's what locks are for." Lane laughed.

"Definitely need to install some of those."

"Don't stress about it, you will be fine."

"Thanks."

"Any time."

* * *

Walking in the diner apartment a few hours later, Rory dropped the bags in her hands when she saw the piles of stuff everywhere.

"Did Santa's workshop explode in here?" She looked at her husband and he shrugged.

"We finished dragging the stuff from the shower here."

"These are all…?"

"Presents for the spawn. Every last one of them."

"This town is crazy." Rory muttered, stepping inside the room. "This didn't seem so…overwhelming yesterday."

"The square is bigger."

"My hands are gonna fall off halfway through writing all the thank you notes."

"I'll help." Jess volunteered, walking to her and kissing her cheek. "Sit down, I can move stuff around to your bidding."

"You know, I'm really looking forward to the baby being born so I can go through an entire day without you telling me to sit down."

"I don't know, it may be a bit ingrained by now…" He joked, tilting his head towards the couch and she sat down, rolling her eyes again.

"Overprotective."

"You make me go to bed, I make you sit. Quid pro quo, Clarice." He smirked. "You'll be chasing a crawling kid around pretty soon, you should sit all you can now."

"Tell me again why I married you, you annoying smart ass."

"Because you love me, remember?"

"Uh-huh. Sure I do."

"Your words, they hurt." Jess smirked again, sitting down next to her, rubbing the back of her neck gently. "Are you sure you want to be mean to me?"

"Damn you and your evil powers." Rory replied with a smile, kissing him. "Bring me coffee and then we can get to sorting this mess."

"Anything else your adoring slave can do for you, madam?"

"Kiss." She grinned, pressing her lips to his briefly. "You may go now."

"I'll be back in a second." He smiled, standing up and heading for the door.

"And don't call me madam ever again!" Rory called after him, laughing before settling in better on the couch, putting her feet up on the coffee table.

"I found your mother." Jess announced as he walked back in the room, Lorelai following behind him.

"I'm bored, Will is down for his nap, Luke is fixing something around the house so I have come to spend time with my favorite daughter."

"What would you have done if Will had been a girl?" Rory smiled as her mother sat down next to her.

"Lied to both of you about being the favorite." She shrugged.

"Good strategy."

"What are we doing?"

"I was made to sit down while Jess looks through the piles of crap and organizes it."

"Can I help?"

"I assume you mean point at things as well instead of actual _helping_, right?" Jess smirked, handing his wife the coffee cup.

"I wouldn't want to get in your way." She grinned in reply, grabbing a pillow and hugging it. "No coffee for your mother-in-law? You want to fall from my graces?"

"You could have brought your own coffee."

"Coulda, woulda, shoulda. Be a darling, will you?"

"My next wife is gonna be an orphan." He muttered, smiling at Rory before heading downstairs again.

* * *

"More clothes!" Jess called out, throwing the small piece of fabric towards the couch. Catching it, Lorelai looked at the label.

"Hey, finally something for the 12-18 months pile."

"Toddler clothes don't stand a chance next to the tiny newborn ones." Rory shrugged, taking the dress from her. "Is this a flamenco dress?"

"Miss Patty." Lorelai smiled.

"Of course." Rory smiled. "This is insanity." She sighed, looking at the piles in front of her.

"Yes. Also why I've been telling you to buy bigger sizes instead of the tiny ones." Peaking her head to the side to avoid the stack of clothes in front of her, Lorelai looked at Jess who was trying to open a box. "What's the hold up?"

"Someone got overly fond of their tape dispenser."

"Probably Taylor."

"Or Kirk." Rory pointed out.

"Nah, it's Taylor." Jess smirked, holding out a book finally freed from its wrapping. "Copy of the town bylaws."

"What every baby needs."

"How else is she going to know not to cry between 9 PM and 7AM, really?"

"No idea." Rory smiled. "How are we doing?" She addressed Jess.

"A couple more things to go, but nothing big."

"We still have to assemble some of these things."

"What are you taking, what are you leaving?" Lorelai asked.

"I don't know."

"We'll have some more coffee while you make a list."

"You're a genius."

"I assume I'm going to be the one bringing you coffee again?" Jess chimed in.

"Unless I'm allowed to stand up again." Rory made a face, giggling at her husband.

"Nah, I'm used to it by now." Jess smirked, throwing a couple of books in a pile. "More books. Good thing her bookshelves are being delivered this week."

"It's almost like people in this town know you two." Lorelai smiled.

"Just because she's our daughter, it doesn't mean she'll like books." Rolling her eyes, she looked at Jess. "And don't start again on throwing her to the wolves."

"Steps of a convent?"

"He's so cute." Lorelai gushed, making him groan.

"Hey, I think I have somewhere else to be. Anywhere else, in fact."

"Don't let us stop you." The older woman shot in return.

"But then _we'd_ have to walk to the diner!" Rory protested, feigning terror.

"Shit." Lorelai muttered. "I take that back. You're not cute. You're evil and mean and not at all adorable when you threaten to give up your daughter."

"Can you two just ignore me? Seriously, I don't mind."

"We will as soon as you're done procrastinating and open up the last box so you can then bring us coffee."

"How Luke hasn't killed you I'll never know." He glanced at Lorelai before opening the last package, throwing the clothes towards the couch. "Done."

"And the coffee?" Lorelai asked again and he stood up, a fake smile on his face.

"You take yours with cyanide, right?"

"And a teaspoon of sugar."

* * *

"Right. So she now has somewhere to sleep at our house, here and grandma's." Rory counted on her fingers, looking at the newly assembled crib.

"Check."

"Changing table here and at home, plus a travel pad for grandma's and everywhere else."

"Check." Lorelai nodded again.

"Clothes."

"A bucket load of those."

"Diapers, diaper bag, bottles just in case, wipes, lotion and all that crap."

"Check."

"So I should stop panicking now?"

"Yes, you should." She reassured her daughter, rubbing her arm. "You're about as ready as you can be." Making a face, she giggled. "That sounded better in my head."

"I appreciate the sentiment." Looking at the empty cup in front of her, Rory shrugged. "One more cup of coffee before I have to go back home?"

"Use the force to get Luke to bring us pie and you've got a deal."

"I'll give him the puppy eyes." She laughed, standing up. Finding an empty table in the diner, they waited for a couple of minutes before Luke appeared next to them.

"How was unpacking?"

"Done. And we were making lists and sorting, Jess did all the heavy stuff." Rory replied. "Is he around?"

"Went out. You want me to go find him?"

"I can call him, don't worry." She smiled. "Can we get some coffee and pie, please?" She asked the man sweetly while Lorelai tried not to laugh.

"What kind?"

"Peach?"

"Give me a minute."

"I love your super pregnant powers. He didn't even lecture us." Lorelai grinned. "Though I don't know what we're going to do after she's born but before she's old enough to ask for food."

"Use Will." Rory suggested.

"Tough one, he's trying to teach him healthy eating habits. I doubt four slices of pie in one day count."

"It has fruit, doesn't he get that it's about as healthy as we'll ever get?"

"He claims to understand our ways and yet he so rarely does." Lorelai sighed. "After your time stuffing yourself with fruit a while ago, it's nice to have you back."

"Apples, mom. Apples."

"Nope, don't remember that." She giggled as her husband put two plates on the table. "Thank you, you're awesome."

"We're having salad with dinner tonight."

"But…" She drew out the word, pouting. "Rory, do something!"

"Sorry. Not even my powers are that great."

"I'm joining the circus!" She proclaimed, pulling her plate closer. "As soon as I've finished my pie."

* * *

"Why are you awake?" Jess asked, a hint of worry in his voice as he sat on the couch next to Rory much later that night.

"Can't sleep."

"Something wrong?"

"Nah, just uncomfortable."

"Can I help in any way?"

"Not really." Rory replied with a shrug, flipping to a different channel on the TV.

"Come on, you're gonna make me sing you a lullaby and you of all people should know that me singing is really a bad idea."

"It's why you don't place bets with Matt on drinking night." She smiled, amused by the memory.

"Could have been worse, he could have found an open karaoke bar and then I would have really had to kill him." Leaning closer, he placed a kiss on her temple, pushing a strand of hair behind her ear. "Can you stop working earlier than planned? You only have three weeks left, you should be able to swing it and then you'd get more rest."

"But I like work." She pouted. "I'll be fine, I promise. Stop worrying."

"Can't." He smiled. "I'm contractually obligated to worry."

"You're silly."

"Well, you're not letting me help, worrying is about the only thing I can do."

"I would let you, but there's nothing I can think of that would work."

"Good book and a cup of hot chocolate?"

"Maybe. Will you do the reading of the good book? She likes your voice." Rory asked.

"She or you?"

"Both. She calms down a bit when you talk." She explained, moving his hand to her bump. "She was acting up until you came down here and now she's almost out of demon banshee mode."

"Can I at least pick the book?" He smirked, kissing her head again.

"Yes."

"I suppose I can sacrifice myself in that case so you can go to sleep."

"Thank you." Rory smiled softly, placing a kiss on his lips.

"You must be seriously tired if I don't even get a mock swoon."

"You have no idea." She replied and Jess stood up, extending his hands to take hers.

"Go on then, move."

Laughing, she took his hands and stood up, following him into the kitchen where he started making the hot chocolate. "It's weird watching you do that when it's 75 degrees outside."

"We'll turn on the AC and then you can actually need it."

"Thanks." She giggled. "What are you doing up, anyway?"

"Believe it or not, it's actually hard for me to sleep without your constant squirming."

"So what you're saying is that you can't sleep without me?"

"There's the mocking!" He remarked, chuckling. "Its absence is much more unnatural than the lack of squirming."

"What will you do when Brett's finally born and I can be comfortable for longer than 30 seconds?"

"Live."

"Good to know. Anyway, I figured you would have gotten tired of being mocked after today. Mom was in great shape."

"Tired, used to it…whatever."

"You poor, poor baby."

"Want to make me feel better?" He cocked an eyebrow, pouring the warm milk in a cup.

"Rain check? I'm beat."

"Fine." He nodded, smiling before tilting his head toward the door. "Go, I'm behind you."

"Aren't you picking a book?"

"No need, I have some Hemingway short stories on the nightstand." Jess smirked.

"Well, if there's anything that'll put me right to sleep…" She dragged on, laughing before heading up towards their bedroom.


	66. Butterfly nest

**A/N: Why, hello there. How are you? Nice to see you again. It's been a while, hasn't it? A lot's happened (including computer death and a pinched nerve in my neck which is making using my right hand sooooo much fun). But I'm back with a new chapter so let's get on with it!**

* * *

**Butterfly nest**

"Choose!" Rory pounced as soon as Jess walked in the house on Wednesday evening, holding two paint chips up to his face, while she clutched a roll of paper towels in the other hand.

"If you're trying to be a young widow, you almost succeeded there." He smirked, shaking his head. "Why am I looking at paint?"

"Because we're painting."

"Huh, always the last to know these things."

"Will you pick one, for the love of all things?"

"What exactly are we painting?"

"Brett's room." She sighed, getting increasingly more frustrated.

"What's wrong with it now?"

"It's pink!"

"And…?"

"Welcome to the world, here, let us shove you straight into a stereotype to which you'll be expected to adhere for the rest of your life. While we're at it, let's get her some pearls and an apron too, why don't we?"

"Because she could choke on them?" He joked and she glared at him.

"Jess!"

Grabbing the two chips from her, he looked at both of them for a few seconds before holding one of them up again. "I like the green."

"Great, that one goes better with the butterflies."

"Butterflies?" He asked again, getting more confused.

"For the wall behind her crib…" She said like it was obvious. "Never mind." She smiled when she saw his still puzzled expression. "Trust me on this?"

"How the hell is pink going to scar her for life all of a sudden but butterflies are perfectly nice and gender neutral?"

"They're both pink and blue. And charcoal."

"For the dark, soulless automaton she's going to be when she finally has to get a job and join real life?"

"Exactly!" Rory laughed, placing a quick kiss on his lips.

"They still don't scream big burly man." He pointed out, smirking. "I think they're a bit girly by definition."

"Fine, the butterflies are for me, because I think they're adorable and she's not going to be scarred by some girly things. At least I hope she's not, given that I don't think anyone's bought her something that's not frilly."

"And the painting…?"

"Count your lucky stars that I'm not asking you to paint the entire house."

"Can I give up now?" He sighed, laughing and Rory nodded.

"It will be easier for both of us."

"Just tell me what you want me to do."

"Painting is all, I promise." She smiled, running her fingers through his hair. "I'd do it myself, but I really don't think getting up on ladders is a good idea." She pointed at her stomach, cringing. "You don't have to if you don't want to, I can…"

"Oh, shut up." Jess smirked, placing a small kiss on her lips. "Seriously."

"It's a really big thing!" She protested.

"Fine, I'll cajole Matt into helping and then it won't be."

"But…"

"He's still mad at me for not letting him help put the furniture together, he'll kill me if I don't."

"I love you." She mumbled after a few seconds of silence, biting her lip. "And Matt. But you more."

"Good to know, crazy." Jess smiled, giving her a hug. "Would you like me to tell me what that's all about?" He pointed at the roll of paper towels in her hand and she laughed.

"Cleaning windows."

"Why?"

"Because if I don't do it now it will drive me crazy until I do."

"Why?"

"There was a smudge!" She explained, looking at him like he was crazy. When he returned the look, she burst out laughing. "There was!"

"Uh-huh. Can I suggest that you may be nesting or will that earn me a kick?"

"Kicking you would probably end in some comic fall as my sense of balance isn't what it used to be."

"That's assuming you had some in the first place."

"Hey!" She whined, smacking his arm lightly. "I can still do that!"

"Oh, you hurt me." Jess rolled his eyes, smirking.

"I'll tell Luke you mocked me." She narrowed her eyes, trying to glare.

"So your way of solving marital disputes involves bringing in a grown up? Great, I'm dying to hear how you plan on dealing with parenting stuff."

"By letting teachers deal with them, of course. Or her juvi probation officer." Rory laughed, kissing him. "I thought we had this all settled, the extent of our involvement will be giving her a room and table scraps."

"As long as she supports us as soon as she's eighteen, I'm good."

"We really need to look at child labor laws, I'm telling you there's got to be a loophole somewhere."

"I'll get right on that." Jess smirked. Realizing they were still in the hallway, he looked at her. "Am I allowed to come inside the house now?"

"Yes." Rory stepped to the side, ducking in the kitchen where she'd left her coffee cup. Taking a sip from it, she grimaced. "Ugh. Cold."

"I'll make you more while you do whatever the hell it is you were doing."

"Cleaning the windows." She reminded him.

"Being a complete lunatic."

"Oh, you love me so." She giggled, handing him her cup and grabbing the paper towels again.

"Yeah, I do." Jess smiled, emptying it in the sink on his way to the coffee machine.

* * *

"I come bringing beer." Matthew announced as Rory opened the door on Saturday morning, holding up a bag. "Damn, you've…" His eyes widened a bit in surprise and Rory held her hand up.

"If your next words are going to be 'gotten to be the size of a house' or anything similar, yes, I know, I've been told, please don't remind me."

"You've gotten so amazingly pretty I am forced to challenge Jess to a duel." He tried to save the situation with a grin. "How's that?"

"That I can live with." She laughed, jerking her head towards the kitchen. "Come on, Jess isn't back from the store yet."

"Any chance you've changed your mind on the pink? It's so adorable!" He asked as he walked in the kitchen, sitting down at the table.

"Nope. But wait until you see the butterflies."

"And Jess is ok with those?"

"He's far too nice to me and is letting me get away with it."

"As he should be."

Rory tried to grab the beers from him to put them in the fridge but Matt frowned.

"Not allowed to."

"Matt, I'm fine." She assured him, taking it anyway.

"There's non-alcoholic one in there for you too. Don't want you to feel left out."

"We did buy beer. I'm pretty sure coercing friends into helping you paint and not giving them beer and pizza is a violation of basic human rights."

"I would do it for nothing in return, but I'll accept your bribery because I don't want you to get in trouble with the UN or whoever is in charge of these things."

"I think it's the UN." She nodded, trying not to laugh. "Would you like something to drink? There's…well, water, beer, coffee…uh…" She opened the fridge but closed it again quickly. "…Nothing else."

"I'll take the nothing else, I've never had one of those before." Matt joked. "Coffee's fine, I'll start the drinking once we've covered enough walls with paint that sploshing it won't matter."

"Give me a minute then." She took out the coffee pot out of the machine and walked to the sink. "How's Chris?"

"He's fine. Says he would have loved to help but he's busy washing his hair."

"I can appreciate that." She giggled.

"He did say he'd be done in time to join us for more drinks and pizza later."

"Good, I haven't seen him in a while."

"Count your blessings." Matthew laughed.

"How's Jane?"

"She's fine. Sends her love. She would have actually liked to be here, but she's working today."

"Ouch, work on a Saturday is no fun."

"It does come with bonus pay so she's not too broken up about it." He shrugged, taking a cup from her before looking pointedly at one of the other chairs. "Thank you. Now sit down."

"I can't wait for this baby to be out so I can make it through an entire day without someone telling me to sit down." She tried to sound annoyed as she grabbed a seat.

"I will never do it again." Matthew made a cross over his chest, grinning.

"Back!" Jess called from the front door, propping it open with the can of paint in his hand. "Hey." he waved at Matt, poking his head in the kitchen. "Didn't think you'd be here already, but since you are…" He smirked.

"Fine, I'll come help. And then we paint?" He asked, hopeful.

"You have the weirdest hobbies." Jess chuckled, nodding. "There's even a bookshelf that you can help put together."

"Best day ever!"

* * *

"Look, I'm just saying I'd rather read all the Twilight books without drinking any alcohol instead of coming near paint!" Much later that evening, Chris lifted his hands in the air, holding a beer bottle in one. "He may enjoy it, I don't." He pointed at Matt before grabbing a slice of pizza.

"That's not what I was curious about, it's about what the hell made you come over for beer and pizza."

"Partly because this means I don't have to think of dinner, partly because you love me so much that you couldn't possibly spend the evening without me and partly because there's beer." He chuckled, drinking from the bottle.

"I for one am amazed that any reasons other than beer crossed your thick skull." Matt laughed.

"Don't make me throw something at you." Chris threatened. "Because I will and I'll make sure to pick something sharp."

"Won't be your mind then."

"I have some suggestions for a thing you could go do right now, but I'll refrain 'cause Rory's here."

"Now, behave or you won't get any of the cake I lovingly picked out for you at the store." Rory giggled, picking up more pizza.

"It's his fault!" He pointed at Matthew, laughing. "Right, what else is new with you?"

"Nothing much. My replacements start work next week so they can have two weeks to learn the ropes."

"You get more than one?"

"Two college students." She nodded. "They're going to be sharing the work, since they start classes again before I go back."

"Hot?" Chris suddenly perked up, making everyone laugh.

"You cannot hit on my interns, Chris."

"I said no such thing!" He tried to defend himself, laughing.

"With you it's a preemptive strike." Matt mumbled.

"Why you think that of me I'll never know." He grinned, finishing his beer. "Right, who needs refills?"

"I'll get them. I should bring out the cake anyway." Rory said.

"I'll help!" Matt jumped up, grinning at her. "What, helping out is not the same as telling you to sit down!"

"Less than a month…" She reminded herself, laughing as they set out for the kitchen.

* * *

"I have now made my husband go out so that I could clean." Rory whined into the phone to her mother, scrubbing the stove at the same time. "That was the last step to full blow insanity, right?"

"_Only because if he's out it means he can't do the work for you." _Lorelai whispered, getting out of bed.

"Why so quiet? It's only half past eight. You weren't in bed, were you?"

"_Sort of, Luke and Will fell asleep reading and I've been…well…watching them."_ She admitted, closing the door softly behind her not to wake them up. _"Ok, fine, I'm pathetic, I spent the last ten minutes doing that. There, you can mock me."_

"I would, but all the pregnancy hormones are raging at the moment and I'm having to fight the urge to aw very loudly."

"_You're picturing Jess with Brett right now, aren't you?"_

"Split screen, Luke and Will are on the other because the fuzziness of Brett's image isn't helping and they're too adorable not to." She tried not to coo at the thought. "Come on, mock me. Let me have it. Maybe with enough mocking I'll stop cleaning this stupid stove and this stupid grease that won't come off." She started scrubbing even more violently than before.

"_I would, but I've been there, done that, got the swollen ankle when I fell off the step stool."_

"You're lucky that's all you got. I thought Luke was going to kill you for climbing up there all by yourself."

"_It was five inches!"_ Lorelai argued. _"And the damned cobweb was there and there was going to be a spider and I was going to panic and throw Will when my arms flew up in the air and he was going to die." _She laughed, remembering the event. _"Let it be known that pregnant brain is weird. How did painting go?"_

"All done, waiting for it to dry completely before I can stick the butterflies. They moved the furniture back before they left."

"_Good for them. So you're all set?"_

"I will be as soon as this damned grease is off!" She groaned, throwing the sponge away. "I give up."

"_Rory, can anyone else other than you see this stain?"_

"I'm going to say yes because there's no one else here to ask, unless we count Brett and I doubt my unborn child has an opinion since she can't see the thing anyway but it really is there."

"_You're rambling. This is highly entertaining."_ Lorelai tried not to laugh but ended up failing miserably. _"Would you mind waiting for me to grab some popcorn?"_

"Way to be sympathetic."

"_I didn't know you wanted sympathy!"_ She complained. _"You said I could mock you like five seconds ago."_

"Mom…?" Rory almost whispered, biting her lip as she sat down.

"_Yes."_

"I'm not going to give her some random disease that's going to kill her because of the state my house is in?"

"_No, you're not."_ Lorelai shook her head. _"You survived your childhood and we both know you're the one that's any good at this cleaning business."_

"I don't want her to get sick. Or hurt. Or have anything bad happen to her."

"_Aw, honey, I know you don't."_

"Listen to me, she's not even born and I'm already overprotective of her."

"_Yeah, well, it's natural."_ She reminded her daughter, smiling. _"You get used to it, though I guarantee you will feel like hell the first time she gets a cold. Don't even get me started on the first time she'll hurt herself by accident while you're watching. I practically had a heart attack when you rolled off the bed this one time – you were fine, didn't even cry, but I didn't sleep that entire night checking up on you." _

"Maybe I would have had a Pulitzer by now if you hadn't let me fall down." She joked.

"_Ouch. That was mean."_

"I'm sorry." Rory apologized, rubbing her bump. "I wasn't serious and you know it."

"_I still wonder what I could have done better some times. You know, the whole 'maybe if I would have changed this thing, you would have been happier'."_

"I was happy, mom. Am happy. If I'm half as good as you, I'll be satisfied."

"_You'll be amazing, kid. Trust me."_ Lorelai shrugged, pushing a strand of hair behind her ear. _"You have no idea how much I regretted not being able to give you a more traditional family."_

"Didn't need one, you were way more than enough." Rory tried to reassure her mother. "Now we need to stop this before we both start crying because if Jess comes home to a blubbery mess, he'll never leave me alone again."

"_Look, from where I'm sitting, that's not such a bad thing."_

"Oh, stop it, I have enough crazy people making sure I don't strain myself by lifting my hand too much or anything."

"_Did you just imply your mother is crazy?"_

"Yes, I did." Rory giggled. "It's true."

"_That's it, I'm hanging up, calling Jess and telling him you're inhaling dangerous chemicals and he needs to get back home immediately."_

"You wouldn't."

"_I will if you don't stop being mean."_

"Truce?" Rory offered.

"_Truce."_ Lorelai agreed. _"I can't believe your baby is almost here. Where did all my time go? You were born five minutes ago, weren't you?"_

"Mom…"

"_Sorry."_ She wiped her eyes._ "I love you, kid."_

"Love you too, mom." Noticing something, she frowned. "I'm going to have to go because…"

"_There's a spot on the floor that needs cleaning?"_

"Like I can reach the floor." She laughed, shaking her head. "No, the fridge door handle. Do you have any idea how filthy that is?"

"_To the general public or to you? Because I'm guessing a radioactive dumping site would look clean compared to it if I took your opinion."_

"It's the only one that matters." Rory pushed herself up with one hand, letting out a loud sigh. "I'll call you tomorrow."

"_No step stools, ok? Or anything else that's off the ground."_

"Not even high heels." She promised.

"_Good. Talk to you soon."_

"Bye."


	67. One for the road

**A/N: Oh, geez, it's been a while. Sorry. Writing isn't easy lately for some reason and it's been a bitch getting any done. You're all more patient than I deserve. **

* * *

**One for the road**

"Rory, you look wonderful!" Emily greeted her on Friday evening, stepping to the side to let her in the house before giving her a hug.

"Thanks, grandma. I don't feel very wonderful."

"You definitely look it and I won't hear another word about it." She grinned. "Jess." She looked at the man, her smile going away completely.

"Good evening, Mrs. Gilmore."

"It's nice to see you." She replied, waving towards the living room. "Come on, let's go sit down."

As soon as her grandmother's back was turned to them, Rory placed a quick kiss on Jess's cheek.

"She loves me." He smirked, waiting for Rory to go first before following the two women to the living room.

"What would you like to drink, Rory?"

"Club soda, please." She answered sitting down on the couch with a small grunt. "By the way, mom called me and said she was going to be late. Caesar is stuck in traffic on the way to the diner and Luke had to be in charge so she's busy with Will."

"She could have called me instead of making you her messenger."

"I'm sure it wasn't on purpose." She replied, rolling her eyes. "It must have been more convenient to call me, that's all."

"Here you go." Emily handed them drinks. "I'm going to go tell the cook dinner is going to be late."

"Great, scotch." Jess grimaced when she was out of earshot, putting the glass on the table.

"I am so sorry."

"You'd think I'd gotten used to it by now." He smirked, kissing her quickly. "So how late is your mother going to be?"

"Don't know. Why?"

"Between the two of you talking, there's not a lot of time for Maleficent to focus on me."

Laughing, Rory shook her head. "You'll be fine, grandpa will be here soon enough and you can talk to him."

"I really hate Luke for not being at every single one of these dinners, by the way."

"Take it up with him." She smiled before placing a kiss on his cheek. "You can be on permanent baby duty in a few weeks, that should keep you away for most of the evening."

"I'm not sure I'm supposed to be as happy as I am about that."

"Should have had children sooner."

"What can I say, the benefits never occurred to me."

"I told Richard to hurry up, but he's tied up with his calls." Emily announced, walking back in the room.

"It's fine, grandma. He needs an intervention to retire."

"I agree." She smiled. "How was the doctor?"

"It's all good but no significant progress." Rory shrugged. "I don't think Brett is in any hurry."

"Have you picked a middle name yet?"

"No. I think at this rate she will never have one."

"Or she'll have fifty." Jess chimed in, picking up his glass again.

"Right, I'm here!" Richard walked in before anyone could say anything else. "Don't get up." He urged Rory and Jess, motioning with his hands. "What have I missed?"

"Nothing much, grandpa." Rory smiled.

"Good. How's work?" He asked, sitting down next to his wife.

"I'm mostly supervising my interns now to make sure they're ready." She replied, sipping from her drink. "They're both great, it's a good thing they need to go back to college or I'd never have my job back." She joked.

"I'm sure that is not true." Richard replied. "What about Truncheon, Jess?"

"Having an interesting time trying to finish four issues of the zine in a month, but other than that it's about the same."

"And your writing?"

"On hold." He shrugged, sipping from his drink while trying not to make a face.

"You better resume it soon." Rory nudged him gently, smiling at him.

"I agree." Richard back her up.

"I'll try." Jess answered.

"That must be Lorelai." Emily said as the doorbell rang. "Finally."

"It's only been fifteen minutes, grandma." Rory pointed out.

"If you could be here on time from Philadelphia I don't see why she couldn't." She grumbled again.

"Hi!" Lorelai greeted everyone as she walked in the room a moment later. "Sorry I'm late, Caesar and Luke and Will and never mind." She waved her hand, making her way to one of the free chairs. "You didn't have to wait for me to start dinner."

"Nonsense, we all eat together." Emily pointed out.

"What would you like to drink?" Richard asked, standing up.

"Martini please." She smiled before looking at her daughter. "You never told me how you got your doctor to let you make the trip here."

"She made both me and Jess promise that we'd head back if anything was even slightly different." Rory smiled. "I didn't want to miss the chance for one last babyless trip."

"I'd throw you a say goodbye to normal life party, but it's not fun without drinking."

"Lorelai." Emily sighed and she lifted her hands in the air.

"Sorry, mom." Looking back at Rory, she mouthed a _'later'_. "What else is new? Did I miss the weekly nag dad to retire session?"

"No, you're in time for that." Richard smiled, handing her her glass. "Though I really wish we would go without."

"Let me guess, you'll retire as soon as you've closed your last few accounts?"

"I have a meeting next week, I thought I could bring it up then. If it's all right with you, Emily."

"Don't joke, Richard." Emily chimed in from her seat, trying not to look too hopeful.

"It's about time, I'd say." Richard replied. "I'm going to be a great-grandfather soon, I should slow down a bit."

"But we'll be left with this large chunk of time to fill every week!" Lorelai joked, looking at her mother who was beaming with joy. "I think it's great, dad."

"So do I." Rory nodded in agreement.

"Are you going to try to join me everywhere I go? Because my happiness will depend on your answer." Emily smiled.

"I promise you I will find my own hobbies, dear."

"In that case, I'm going to go tell the maid to bring some champagne." She stood up, a radiant smile on her face.

* * *

"Why are you still awake?" Rory mumbled later that night, waddling to the table after a short trip to the bathroom.

"Work." He looked up, running his fingers over the back of her leg.

"You should have stayed home, Jess." She ran her fingers through his hair before pulling a chair closer to his. "You're going to be a wreck tomorrow."

"I'll have coffee."

"You're stubborn."

"Laura would have throttled me if I'd let you come alone." He pointed out.

"Is that the story you're sticking to?"

"Look, there are going to be a lot of things in her life…" He pointed at Rory's bump as he spoke. "…that I won't care about missing. Fifth play of the year where she plays the tree on the left? I'll try to be there but I won't beat myself up too much about it. But I don't feel like the risk of not being there for her birth is worth it."

"You're such a softie in the middle of the night." Rory replied, laughing.

"Don't tell." He kissed her forehead. "You should go back to bed."

"I don't like sleeping without you."

"Is that supposed to be your cunning ploy to get me to go to sleep?"

"Is it working?"

"I really have to finish this." He jerked his head towards the papers on the table, an apologetic look on his face. "At least if you want me to have enough time to come to Liz's with you tomorrow."

"It can't wait until Sunday? Or tomorrow afternoon?"

"Screw it." Jess decided after a moment, standing up and extending his hands to help Rory up.

"Yay!"

"You're the one that has to talk to Matthew if he calls me to complain about not being done yet, got it?"

"Yes." She nodded, lifting his hand to her lips and kissing it. "I'll write you a note if you want."

"It might come to that."

* * *

"Good morning!" Lorelai walked in the dinner the next morning, holding her son in her arms. "Say 'hi', Will!"

"Hi!" The toddler laughed, waving both his hands while trying to weasel out of Lorelai's hold. "Hi! Hi! Hi! Hi!" He continued, making Rory laugh.

"No, just once, silly face." She kissed his cheek. "Luke, help please!" She called to her husband and he walked from behind the counter, holding a high chair.

"Where do you want it?" He asked, kissing both of them.

"Rory's table." She pointed with one hand, waiting for him to move it there before strapping Will in it. "Thank you."

"You're welcome." He smiled, pulling out his order pad. "What would you like? She's been waiting for you to get here to order food."

"Waffles."

"Pancakes, hash browns and lots of bacon." Rory added.

"And coffee."

"Me too."

"Anything else?"

"Nope. I fed Will before we left home." Lorelai caressed the boy's cheek with her finger. "I know better."

"What happened?" Rory asked as Luke left to get their food.

"He's been very messy lately." She shrugged, sticking out her tongue at Will, getting him to laugh. "He has a very impressive throwing range with his food and the diner is harder to clean than our kitchen. And I hear people don't like food getting in their hair."

"Silly people." She smoothed the toddler's hair down, making faces at him.

"Coffee." Luke announced, putting two cups on the table. "Food will take a bit longer."

"We'll live."

"Barely." Lorelai sighed. As soon as he was gone again, she looked at Rory. "What are your plans for today?"

"Run a marathon, climb a mountain. The usual. Maybe swim fifty laps or something if I can find the time."

"You think you could postpone those? Your brilliant mother figured pedicures might be better." She grinned. "The nice place in Hartford that gives you a foot and calf massage as well. What do you say? Luke can take care of Will once the lunch crowd is gone and you have nothing better to do anyway and I've already made reservations. Come on, do it!"

"Yeah, like I need convincing. I'm in."

"Yay!"

"We're having lunch at Liz's, but I'm all yours after that."

"Can we go shopping? Please?" She drew out the word. "Will's going through a growth spur or something and I don't have anything to put him in."

"As long as we stick to buying him clothes instead of Brett."

"Promise."

"You're lying, but I'll take it."

"You can't prove it." Lorelai giggled.

"Can I ask a stupid question now?"

"Sure."

"How am I supposed to know when it's real labor and it's a false alarm?"

"Well, if a baby comes out of…"

"Mom!" She glared at her.

"Oh, you wanted the serious answer?" Lorelai laughed, sipping from her cup. "No clue. When you get to the hospital and the doctor tells you 'hey, you're in labor!'."

"You've had two children and this is the best you have?"

"The first one was quite some time ago." She pointed out. "I don't know what to tell you, kid. You know the rules about contractions, right? Regular, getting closer…"

"Don't change with level of activity, intensity becomes greater, pain usually radiating."

"That's a yes. And a 'I really should be less surprised by now when you start reciting books'."

"I need more firsthand information."

"I don't have any, Rory." She shrugged apologetically. "I would love to, but I don't. There isn't anything other than that. Oh, if your water breaks! That's a good sign."

"Only happens in a small percentage of cases. Another television and movie lie. There's nothing sacred any more." She paused for a second, biting her lip. "I don't want to be the crazy person that goes to the hospital a million times."

"No, don't worry about that." She tried to tell Rory. "It's better to go than to wait too long and have a kid in your living room. Ruins the carpet."

"What if I call you and you're on your way and then it all stops and you've made the trek for nothing?"

"You can call me again, I'll only be halfway there. Or I'll sleep in the guest room. Don't worry, it doesn't matter."

"You're sure you don't mind me calling you for potentially nothing?"

"God, yes." She nodded vigorously. "I'll be there come hell or high water and a few false starts don't matter."

"I want to hug you, but you're all the way over there and by the time I'd get up, the moment would be gone." Rory laughed. "Hopefully there will be only one good start."

"And last exactly fifteen minutes longer than it takes me to get there."

"That would be nice."

* * *

"TJ's gone to Al's to pick up lunch." Liz announced when she opened the door, waves of smoke wafting out. "I don't know how this happened, I swear."

"It's fine, Liz."

"Hey, it's just like when you cook." Jess smirked, looking at his wife and she rolled her eyes at him.

"Be nice!" Liz admonished him. "Right, let me look at you." She exclaimed and Rory turned around once slowly.

"Satisfied?"

"Yes. You are gorgeous." She smiled, giving her a hug. "You're looking good too." She told her son, hugging him too. "Now let's go in the back yard before Doula knocks the house down or something."

"Right, she's the great danger here." Jess said.

"This hasn't happened in months!" Liz tried to fight back, guiding them to the back yard. "Hey, Doula, look who's here!"

"Jess!" She yelped, running to her brother and wrapping her arms around him. "You came!"

"Told you I would." He smiled, ruffling the little girl's hair. "Am I allowed to breathe now?"

"Suppose so." She mumbled, letting go of him before noticing Rory and bouncing over to her. "You look really, really pretty, Rory."

"Thank you, Doula." She smiled at the child as she wrapped her small arms around her as well as she could, ending up hugging her hip mostly. "Did you coach her on that one?"

"Nope." Liz answered.

"I'm not sure if I should believe you, but it's a great thing to hear." Rory replied, laughing.

"Do you not tell her often enough, Jess?" She looked accusingly at her son and Jess shook his head.

"I do my best."

"It's true, he does. He's pretty wonderful."

"Only pretty, huh?" He countered.

"Oh, shut up." Rory giggled before looking at the little girl who'd finally let go. "How are you, Doula?"

"I finished school for the summer!"

"And won't stop talking about it." Liz sighed. "It's going to be a long few months. Come on, sit, sit." She encouraged Rory and Jess, pointing at a bench. "I'll get you something to drink, what do you want?"

"Water's fine."

"Me too."

"Come give me a hand, kiddo." She called to her daughter, leaving the two alone.

"Hanging in?"

"So far." Jess smiled, kissing Rory's temple.

"You didn't even try to pry Doula away. Or Liz."

"If TJ tries it, I make no promises the result will be the same."

"No one asks that of you."

"How are you doing?"

"I'm fine, Jess, stop worrying."

"Can't, your doctor will kill me."

"I'll kill you first." She giggled. "We'll be back home tomorrow and then I promise you I'm not leaving Philadelphia until after she's born."

"I don't know if I should trust you." Jess smirked, wrapping his arm around her.

"Do you want me to put on my trustworthy face?"

"Never gonna work." He laughed.

"Here!" Doula placed a glass on the table next to Rory. "I didn't spill!"

"Good job!" She praised the girl. "So, how was your last report card?"

"All As!" She beamed.

"Wow. You're very clever."

"I'm not as clever as Jess. He writes books!"

"Sure you are." He told her. "I wasn't writing books when I was your age."

"So I could grow up and write books?"

"Yes."

"And you'll help me?"

"With anything you need." He ruffled her hair again and she tried to fight his hand away.

"Drinks!" Liz walked outside, holding two glasses. "What else is new with you two?" She asked, sitting down across from them.

"Nothing. Doing the 'please be born already' dance." Rory laughed. "When do you leave for the fair?"

"Monday. We heard you were coming to town for one last visit and couldn't miss it."

"I feel very honored."

"Heya, Liz, I'm back!" TJ's voice boomed from inside the house. "I stood there just like you said to make Al hurry with the food." He said as he walked outside, holding a couple of bags in his hands. "Jesus, you're huge!" He blurted out as he saw Rory. "What'd you do, shove another one in there?"

"TJ!" His wife yelled at him.

"What'd I do now?"

"You said something not nice, daddy." Doula chimed in. "And when you say something not nice, you apologize, right?" She looked at her mother for confirmation and she nodded.

"Right."

"Sorry." The man sulked.

"It's fine, TJ." Rory smiled. "Doesn't matter."

"Yes it does. And as penance, I think he should go bring plates." Liz declared.

"But I already went for the food!"

"Doesn't matter."

"Not fair." The man sulked, heading inside the house anyway.

"Rory, I'm really…"

"It seriously doesn't matter. I am huge. You were telling us about the fair…?" Rory reminded her, making the other woman launch in a long story involving their plans for the next few months.

* * *

"Call me any time! Day, night, morning, whatever. I mean it!" Lorelai hugged her daughter tightly. "Promise."

"Mom, I already did."

"Do it again."

"I double promise." She laughed.

"I can't believe next time I'm going to see you…" She choked back tears. "So not ready for this."

"Ok, you're going to have to let go now so I can leave before you start crying again and then I have to console you and we're not home before midnight."

"Fine." She dragged out the word before letting go. "See, I did it."

"Yes, you did. I should go." She jerked her head towards the car and Jess waiting leaning on it. "I'll call you tonight."

"Ok. Drive safe."

"Don't cry." She told her before waving one more time.

"I'll try."

"See you hopefully very soon."

"Yes. Don't stay in there too late, Brett, grandma wants to meet you."

"I'm sure she's going to listen."

"She better." She threatened jokingly. "Ok, go. Bye, Jess." She waved at the man and he nodded once as an answer before getting in the car. "Call?"

"Obsessively." Rory promised one more time before sitting in the passenger seat with a groan.

"You ready?" Jess asked.

"No." She shook her head in reply, laughing. "I suppose I've got to be though, right?"

"Probably." He pushed a strand of hair behind her ear. "Let's go."


	68. Oh, no, here we go!

**A/N: Thank you for the reviews. **

* * *

**Oh, no, here we go!**

"Hey." Jess greeted her, walking in the nursery late Wednesday evening. "What's up?"

"Nothing much." She replied, continuing to scrub the windowsill.

"You don't think that's clean enough yet?"

"No." She snapped at him, shooting a glare in his direction.

"Should I stand back and bring the ice cream?"

"Do whatever you want." She told him again, closing her eyes and grimacing.

"What's wrong?" Jess hurried to her side, putting one hand on her back and starting to rub it slowly.

"Hurts." She managed to get out.

"Hurts, hurts?" Rory nodded in reply and he kissed her temple, waiting for her to feel better. "Do you want to go to the hospital?" He asked when she finally relaxed again.

"No. It's been like this most of the day. I keep contracting for a while but then it stops."

"Would you like to hit me, would that help?"

"Maybe." She pouted, resting her head on his shoulder. "I'm sorry."

"It's ok, you get a pass for being grumpy. Are you sure you don't want to at least call your doctor?"

"I have to see her tomorrow, there's no point."

"Ok." He kissed the top of her head, hugging her tighter. "It's at one, right?"

"You should stay at work, Jess, I don't need you there."

"I'm going for the 'present at every appointment' badge. Maybe I'll get a prize."

"How about a baby?"

"That'll work." He smiled. "Come on, go sit down. I'll scrub the windowsill all you want."

"Please, it's so clean the baby could eat off it." Rory laughed, waddling to the nearest seat. Sitting on the foot rest across from her, Jess picked up one of her feet, starting to rub it. "You seriously want that badge." She told him with a grin, letting out a happy moan.

"Oh, yeah."

* * *

"Please tell me it's good news." Rory almost begged the doctor as she sat down next to Jess after her exam was over.

"Ready for her to be born?"

"As long as it's after tomorrow, she can come any time."

"What's tomorrow?"

"My last day of work. I'd really like to finish it."

"It doesn't look like she's going to interfere with that, which is about as much as I can say. Maybe."

"Maybe?" Rory laughed.

"I'm just guessing here, but I've examined women before and they had no signs of starting and then boom – middle of the night phone call. So don't take me as the final authority in this, babies have minds of their own."

"Can I bribe her?"

"You can try." Laura replied with a giggle. "It all looks good, she's in position. The only thing left to do is wait."

"I'm not good with waiting."

"It sucks." The doctor agreed. "Do you have any questions?"

"Not that I can think of, but you're in my speed dial."

"Good. When you do go into labor, don't do anything stupid like trying to drive yourself to the hospital. Jess, I'm making you in charge of this."

"Will do."

"In that case, I will see you again in a week, if not sooner."

* * *

"How was your last day of work?" Jess asked, walking into the living room where Rory was sipping from a cup of coffee, looking at her laptop.

"Not bad. There was cake."

"They do know you're going back, right?"

"Any excuse to have cake." She shrugged, motioning for him to move closer. Giving him a kiss, she smiled. "How was your work?"

"Riveting."

"Almost done?"

"Will be in a few days." Jess smiled, sitting next to her, glancing at her screen. "What were you doing?"

"Will you laugh?"

He shrugged in reply.

"Playing with an online middle name generator to try to name Brett."

"Any luck?"

"Really?"

"Look, we agreed she needs one and we're not any closer to a result."

"This doesn't look like it's going to help much either." Rory made a face. "Elizabeth, Penelope, Joelle." She read the first three names.

"No, no and are you fucking kidding me?" Jess rolled his eyes.

"Pretty much my thoughts. India, Carly, Serenity."

"Geez, this is getting worse."

"Faith, Charlotte, Jada."

"We're not religious, no and slightly striper-ish." He smirked.

"Poor kid." She rubbed her stomach and Jess's hand joined hers, smiling at the kicks. "You need better parents. Should we revisit some of our options?"

"We had options?"

"Lorelai."

"Can't use it because if she hates Brett she'll be shit out of luck in the name department. There are two of you already."

"We'll call her junior."

"Great." Jess drew out the word, smirking.

"Catherine."

"Which you hate."

"I don't hate it, I just don't want her to have two Hemingway names." Rory said. "In fact, I really like it."

"Then we can name her that and you have full naming dibs on the next one."

"What if she ends up being an only child?"

"We'll get a dog and you can name it."

"Let me think about that… daughter, dog. Yeah, same thing." She grinned.

"Great, it's settled." Jess stood up, kissing the top of her head. "I'm going to go make dinner."

"No, this is important."

"_This _is getting us nowhere. And it's supposed to be your decision anyway."

"I am hungry." She admitted.

"Maybe we'll think of something when she's here." Jess told her before leaving the room.

"What happens if we don't?" She called after him.

"Then she better like Brett a lot."

* * *

"Let's do something fun this weekend." Rory asked, sitting on the bed next to Jess on Saturday morning. "This better be our last weekend without a baby, we should take advantage."

"Sleep." Jess mumbled, burying his face in the pillow.

"But I'm awake. And can't sleep."

"I can."

"Please…?" She drew out the word, pouting.

"Fine, but I want it to be noted you'd kill me if I did this to you." He sat up, running a hand through his hair.

"Hah! Knew you were almost awake."

"I can go from almost awake back to sleep in five seconds if you don't interfere." He pointed out. "What do you want to do?"

"Something fun."

"You said that."

"It's as far as I got with planning."

"You can plan while I stay here and sleep."

"Jess!" She whined and he smirked in reply, kissing her forehead.

"Or I could go make breakfast."

"Thank you."

"Do I have to get a divorce now or am I still in time for an annulment?" He joked, getting out of bed.

"Hey, I just thought of something fun to do."

"What?" He asked and Rory smiled coyly, tugging at the edge of his shirt to pull him back closer.

"I'll give you a second to figure it out."

* * *

"Why did I never learn how to cook?" Rory asked as Jess picked up the phone on Monday afternoon.

"_Because take away is easy? Why?"_

"Because every 'things to do before the baby is born' list is telling me I should be making meals and freezing them for when we're too frazzled to cook."

"_And again…take away."_

"Well take away sucks!"

"_You're out of things to do."_ Jess smirked, finally piecing things together.

"You're at work and I'm bored." She whined. "Why did I think stopping work was a good idea? I should have kept going right until the day this baby comes out." Taking a breath, she continued her rant. "I've packed and repacked her diaper bag – by the way, we forgot to put diapers in it. I've checked my hospital bag, charged everything that needs charging and finished my book. Then I organized the books, DVDs and magazines I have set for when I have to feed her and need something else to do in five stacks from' mindless brain candy' to 'must have at least had some coffee to get what the hell is going on'."

"_Your morning has been more productive than most people's weeks."_

"I would have cleaned too but I'm out of stuff to clean." Rory pouted.

"_I'd make you come help, but we're just about done here."_

"Aw, really? What if you all stop working and I finish it?"

"_Sorry."_ He shrugged, smirking. _"Call Lorelai, by the time you're off the phone with her I should be home."_

"She's at work."

"_And?"_

"Good point."

"_Call if you need anything."_

"I will. Love you, bye."

"_Bye." _

Standing up again as soon as she'd hanged up, Rory walked to the kitchen and refilled her coffee cup while waiting for her mother to pick up her phone.

"Hi, mom."

"_Are you in labor? Do I need to drive over?"_ She asked in one breath.

"Nope, just bored."

"_Oh. That's a letdown."_

"Thanks."

"_You know what I mean."_ Lorelai laughed. _"How are you?"_

"Pregnant."

"_Thanks for the update, I got that."_

"No, you didn't let me finish. Pregnant and so huge and tired and bored and in pain and I need this child to be born now before I lose it."

"_You are aware that childbirth hurts, right? I don't know why you're so anxious?"_

"Because I'm huge." She pointed out again, laughing. "And I don't even care anymore, I just want her out."

"_The last month of pregnancy is a joke, isn't it?"_ Lorelai agreed.

"Drug me now and wake me up when she's five."

"_I wish I could."_

"Ok, tell me something. Or give me something to do." She sighed. "Anything to keep me distracted."

"_Kirk came by this morning…"_

* * *

"I cannot believe Truncheon is closed for the summer." Matthew sighed, drinking from his beer. "I can't even remember when the last time we had any free time was."

"Not since we started it, that's for sure." Chris nodded.

"I think that makes us way overdue for this."

"Any big plans?" Rory asked.

"Sleep, sleep and oh, yeah, some sleep." Matthew laughed.

"Seriously? You have three months off to do whatever you want and you're going to sleep?"

"I'll find something to do once I wake up. But right now…sleep."

"How about you, Chris?"

"Mexico and then South from there. Going to spend a couple of weeks on a beach with beer first."

"That sounds awesome." She sighed wistfully. "Can I leave the kid with Jess after she's born and come hang out with you?"

"You bring the bathing suit, I have the double bed booked."

Wrapping an arm around her shoulders, Jess smirked. "Is this joke ever going to die?"

"Umm…no." Chris answered after he pretended to think for a while.

"When are you leaving?" Jess asked.

"Couple of weeks. Couldn't miss the big event." He chuckled. "I need to stay around and see you two lose your last bits of sanity."

"On second thought, I like you better." Rory told Jess, kissing his cheek.

"You hurt me." Chris laughed. "Another round?"

"I'll come with you."

"God, beer smells good." Rory whined when they were alone, resting her head on Jess's shoulder. "I am just about ready to kill for a drink."

"Sorry." He kissed the top of her head. "How are you doing?"

"Not a stupid contraction all evening."

"Not the sort of thing people usually complain about."

"Right, because I would really like to go over her due date." Rory laughed. "She's done, she can get out now. I don't need a freeloader."

"It would make for a good story."

"Mommy went into labor in a bar." She made a face. "I'd never live it down."

"Your grandparents would be so proud."

"Please, grandma would have a heart attack if she heard that I came here tonight. We should both be home, waiting."

"I think it's Emily's fault, she should have provided us with written instructions on proper behavior. We're not supposed to know this sort of thing."

"I wonder if Miss Manners has any thoughts on the issue."

"What did we miss?" Matt asked, sitting back down and pushing two glasses in front of them. "Chris is trying to talk a girl into giving him her number."

"I was complaining about still being pregnant."

"My sister was fourteen days overdue."

"Why would you tell me that?" Rory asked, giggling. "You're lucky I have nothing to throw at your head."

"Erm…" He hesitated. "I'm sorry? I'm sure that's not going to happen to you."

"Can I hold you responsible if it does?"

"Do I still get to hold the baby?"

"Yes, but I will rant at you while you do it."

"Ranting I can deal with." He sipped from the beer that Chris put in front of him. "Should we freak him out again by mentioning the baby?"

"Please don't." Chris grimaced. "You may all be excited and shit, but I'm on the grossed out side of this. As far as I'm concerned, you just put on some weight."

"And yet you're staying long enough to see her once she's born?"

"I have issues with the idea of birth, not babies. They're great with some BBQ sauce."

"Note to self – don't let Chris alone with Brett." Jess smirked.

* * *

Tuesday night.

"Far be it from me to pretend I know better, but that's the third time you've stopped because you have a contraction since we started this game." Jess pointed out as Rory froze, clutching the end of the table.

"I'm fine." She got out after a few seconds.

"No, you've been having contractions every ten minutes."

"I'm fine." She told him again, standing up. "I am not going to get excited until they last for a while longer."

"If they haven't stopped in two hours?"

"We can go to the hospital." She told him, pacing around the room with one hand on her back. "Damn it though, this hurt like hell."

"I could have told you that."

"Not helpful."

"Ok, how would you like me to help?"

"I don't know." She shook her head, sitting back down and looking at the Scrabble board. "I can't think." Rory said after a few seconds of staring at her tiles. "My brain is dead."

Moving next to her, Jess took her hand gently and pushed it away from her back before taking over the massaging. "Do you want to take a bath or something?"

"Really?"

"The book said it should help!" He reminded her, smirking. "What's the worst that could happen, you relax for a while?"

"Suppose so." She shrugged, giving him a kiss. "You know, I'm so frustrated with all of this but I still don't feel ready. What if something goes wrong?"

"We'll deal."

"I don't think I could, Jess." She admitted.

"It's ok." He kissed her temple. "Nothing will go wrong, ok? Brett will be here soon and she's going to be about as perfect as you are. And instead of worrying, you're going to march to the bathroom and have a really long bath and then we're going to see what's going on and hopefully get you to a hospital."

"You're calm."

"Not on the inside." He smirked, standing up and extending his hands to help her up. "Come on."

* * *

"It's been two hours, let's go." Jess stood up, looking at Rory. "No more excuses."

"Fine."

"That was easy."

"I'd rather be in a hospital instead of here or the car when she's born. And the hospital can make the pain go away. I would really, really like that." Stopping as another contraction hit, she closed her eyes and let out a moan, waiting for it to end.

"What can I do?" Jess asked when she was better again.

"Go get the bag and let's go. Hospital, drugs, happy me."

"It's already in the car. I'll call Lorelai when we're driving."

"Then come on." She said, taking one more deep breath.


	69. Almost but not quite

**A/N: If anyone needs me, I'm going to be in he corner hiding. Thank you for the reviews.**

* * *

**Almost but not quite**

"False alarm." Rory sighed, exasperation in her voice as Lorelai picked up the phone.

"_No."_

"Oh, yeah. Contractions stopped pretty much the minute we got to the hospital. I've been here for an hour and not a single one. The doctor on call said there's no progress, if you catch my drift."

"_Drift caught. So what are they going to do?"_

"They're sending me home. I have to come back if anything changes, but she didn't sound hopeful." She shrugged, biting her lip. "I don't want to go."

"_I know, but there's nothing they can do."_

"I know." She continued her pacing through the small hospital room. "Jess is talking to someone and we'll go as soon as he's back. So yeah, you can head back home. Sorry we woke you up."

"_Don't worry, Rory."_ Lorelai smiled, shaking her head. _"Do you want me to keep driving? I'm about halfway there, I can come spend a couple of days and distract you."_

"No, it's fine. Go back, you have Will and Luke and everything. The inn must be packed this weekend."

"_The inn is fine."_

"So am I." She tried to convince both her mother and herself, resting against the table as she rubbed her stomach with her free hand. "Jess is home with me, he'll distract me."

"_Oh, I'm sure he will."_ She replied, laughing_. "I hear that sort of thing makes babies come."_

"Mom!"

"_What, you've got to admit it's a bit funny that the same thing that makes babies is supposed to help with getting them to hurry up and be born."_

"I don't find a lot of things funny right now."

"_I know, hon."_ She told her daughter, her voice sympathetic again. _"Are you very sure you don't want me to come?"_

"Yes." She replied, trying to hide the quiver in her voice.

"_Aw, damn, what do you know, I just passed the halfway point, it's easier to get there than go back."_

"Mom, I…"

"_Driving tired is very dangerous, I don't want to get in an accident or anything and this is the shorter distance. I'll be there tomorrow and drive back in the evening."_

"Thank you." She wiped her eyes. "I'm so tired, mom."

"_I know. Have Jess drive you home, I'll be there in a couple of hours."_

"Ok." She nodded, biting her lip again. "I should go find him and see what's taking so long."

"_Ok. I'll see you very soon."_

"Th…"

"_Shush."_ She told her, smiling. _"It's going to be all right."_

"You sure?"

"_Yes."_ Lorelai nodded._ "Go on, go. I have to call Luke and tell him to stay put, if he's even managed to track someone down to watch Will for us. I knew we should have planned this in advance."_

"See you soon." Rory replied before hanging up the phone. After having another look around the room to make sure they hadn't forgotten anything, she opened the door only to find Jess standing on the other side, ready to do the same. "How's it going?" She asked.

"It's fine, they wanted some insurance stuff." Jess wrapped his arms around her, kissing her temple. "You ok?"

"Sort of. Broken hearted that we have to go home without an actual outside of me baby, but I suppose as long as she's healthy, I can't complain much. Mom is still coming."

"Good."

"You don't mind?"

"No." He told her, hugging her tighter. "What can I do to make you feel better?"

"Nothing. Let's go home, I'll see if I can get some sleep."

"Ok." He kissed her again before grabbing the suitcase.

* * *

"Wake up." Jess whispered in her ear a while later, kissing her cheek. "Your mom is here."

"What?" She asked groggily.

"We're home and your mom is here."

"But…hospital…and mom…"

"I drove around for a while, you were looked like you were finally getting some rest."

"A while?"

"Couple of hours. You're lucky I filled the tank today." He smiled, pushing a strand of hair behind her ear. "Come on, Lorelai's waiting."

"Ok." She mumbled again, opening the car door. Reaching the front steps of their house a few seconds later, she laughed when Lorelai pulled her into a hug. "Hi."

"Hi. And I'm sorry you don't have a baby yet."

"It's ok. I'm dealing better with the disappointment after some sleep. I would however have liked it if I'd gotten all the details before I signed up for this."

"Look, I told you – take however hard you think it's going to be, times that by about ten and there you have it."

"Great, you forgot to tell me that it starts before she's even born."

"Well, now you know better for next time."

"Ha! Next time. You're funny." Rory replied. "Come on, let's go inside before the neighbors call the cops."

"Oh, I'm allowed inside? I feel special!" Lorelai giggled, waiting for her daughter to open the door before following her.

"Do you want some coffee?" She asked as they stepped into the kitchen. "You can go to bed if you're tired, I'll…"

"Coffee would be great."

"I love how you forgot all about me." Jess smirked, walking into the kitchen, dropping the hospital bag near the front door. "I get it, I'm not needed."

"Are you going to cry? I hope you do." Lorelai replied.

Giving him a quick kiss, Rory smiled. "Do you want some coffee?"

"I was going to go upstairs unless you want me here." He shook his head.

"Go get some sleep."

"You sure?"

"Yes. Go." She told him again, kissing him. "It's your best chance to get some uninterrupted sleep for a bit."

"Ok." He smiled, cupping her face in his hand before kissing her. "Come get me if there's anything."

"I will." She promised him, giving him one more kiss before pulling back.

"Night, Lorelai."

"Night." The woman replied, busy counting spoons of coffee. "Damn, lost count." She added another spoon, grinning. "What's the worst that can happen?"

"You know it won't be caffeinated no matter how much you add, right?"

"I refuse to accept that. Go, sit, I can make this."

"Thanks."

"Did the doctor say anything else?"

"No. She said I could stay if I really wanted, but it could be a week or more."

"Did you kill her?"

"No."

"Did you want to?"

"Oh, yeah." Rory said with a snicker. "She was very nice about it which just made me feel worse about wanting to."

"It's ok, I'm sure she understands. What's next on the agenda?"

"A whole lot of nothing. I'm sure I'll find something to clean around here for the fifth time, but nothing else."

"I remember those days."

"Any advice?"

"Try going sideways on the stairs. I read somewhere that's supposed to help."

"I meant in general, but I'll keep that in mind." Rory giggled, accepting the cup her mother was handing her. "Anyway, if she isn't coming today, she has to stay in until Friday. I'm not having kid born on the fourth of July."

"Birthing Tom Cruise must be one of everyone's worst nightmares. Imagine how many couches you'd go through during the years."

"They don't make that many."

* * *

"What the hell is all that?" Jess asked as he walked in the kitchen where Lorelai and Rory were unloading their shopping bags.

"Pineapple, hot sauce, ginger snaps, licorice and everything on the ingredient list for you to make me eggplant parmesan because those are the only things outside of Chinese food I plan on eating until this damned child is born. After tomorrow."

"You encouraged this?" He cocked his eyebrow, looking at Lorelai.

"I merely suggested it's worth a try."

"If you start doing jumping jacks, I will have you committed." He told Rory before kissing her cheek.

"Starting exercising when I'm this pregnant seems a bit over the top."

"Ew. No kissing." Lorelai laughed. "Ok, you're all prepared, I need to go before it's too late."

"No, stay with me, I have firstborn dibs. You don't want me to feel excluded because you had another kid, do you?"

"Fine, I'm moving in with you."

"Great."

"Do I get a say?" Jess asked with a chuckle.

"What, you don't want your lovely mother in law to live with you?"

"No."

"Rory!" Lorelai called, pointing at Jess. "He's mean!"

"I'm going to stay out of this." Rory smiled.

"Well, fine." Lorelai sulked, crossing her arms over her chest. Noticing the time, she sighed. "I really should go. You'll be all right?"

"Yes."

"And you'll call?"

"Mother…" Rory rolled her eyes, laughing.

"Fine, I'm going." She gave her a quick hug. "I'll see you soon."

"Bye, Lorelai."

"I'll come walk you out." Rory told her, waiting for her mother to go outside. Coming back in the kitchen a couple of minutes later, she hugged her husband, resting her head on his shoulder. "How are you?"

"All right."

"Even if we're still baby-less?"

"Even if." He smiled, kissing her temple.

"I love you." She whispered, kissing his cheek.

"Love you too."

* * *

"Hey, kid." Rory started talking as she sat down in the nursery rocking chair. "Today's your official due date. I'm happy you stayed put yesterday, for your sake, because having a birthday on a holiday would suck, but you can be born now. Seriously. Your dad and I are dying to meet you and everyone else we know isn't that much more patient either. Plus, it's nice out here. Too warm but that shouldn't be a problem for you, since you're used to it. Anyway, yeah, if you'd like to be born, we're ready, your room is ready, everything is, so go ahead."

"Nice speech." Jess laughed from his place in the doorway and she lifted her head, blushing as she noticed him.

"I…was…um…"

"Trying to coax our child to be born?"

"Hey, maybe it will work." She laughed, shaking her head.

"Listen to your mother, Brett." Jess stepped closer to her, pointing his finger at her stomach. "Maybe if we both tell her…"

"By our powers combined!" She shot her hand in the air, giggling again.

"She better not have a green mullet."

"She better not have a mullet of any sort."

Leaning over, he gave her a quick kiss. "What do you want to do today?"

"Turn off my phone so I don't get any 'have you had that baby yet' calls."

"Doable."

"Then I was thinking I could get you naked. It's the most fun way I can think to start the 'get this damned child out' mission."

"If I must." He wiggled his eyebrows, catching her bottom lip between his as she tried not to burst out laughing.

* * *

"What are you doing?" Jess asked as he stepped out of the office the next evening.

"Erm…I can explain." Rory mumbled as she froze sideways on the stairs, a half-eaten cookie in her hand. "Mom read somewhere it's supposed to induce labor and I'm desperate enough."

"You do realize it looks silly?"

"No, really?" She giggled. "I know, Jess."

"And you're still going at it…why?"

"Because I'm tired of being pregnant! I didn't hear you complaining when we were trying sex."

"I'm not complaining now either." Grabbing two railing posts with his hands, he looked up at her from the small gap. "Do you want to go back to sex? At least there's some logic behind that one."

"Too tired." She shrugged. "Later?"

"Sure."

"My God, aren't we romantic." Rory replied.

"Here I figured it would take us at least thirty years to get to the old married couple stage."

"Sorry." She shrugged.

"Can you at least come down, my neck is starting to hurt?"

"Yep." She nodded, walking sideways down the stairs. "One more time can't hurt." Hearing her phone ring, she rolled her eyes, grimacing. "Can you answer that and tell whoever it is you'll kill them if they call again?"

"Why did you turn that thing on again?"

"Because mom called the houseline and complained about my cell being off."

"Tell her to call mine, she's the only one from your family that has that number."

"Has Liz called today?"

"Yes."

"Gah." She groaned. "No more!"

"I told her to go away. In different words." He quickly added before hugging her. "Let's go watch a movie, that will distract you."

"Can we go to the store first and buy more ginger snaps?"

"Did you seriously eat all of them?"

"And the pineapple." She nodded.

"I hope you didn't put hot sauce on them at least. Seeing you do that with dinner was disturbing enough."

"I didn't." Rory kissed the corner of his mouth. "So…cookies?"

"I can make you some if you want."

"You can make ginger cookies?" She asked, her eyes widening in surprise.

"Really, we've been together for this long and you doubt my abilities in the kitchen?"

"You're magic." She joked, kissing him again.

"Come on, I'll make you some coffee and you can watch me bake."

"I don't suppose you can make me a pineapple too?"

"I'm not that good. But I'll buy you one if I have to go to the store to buy ingredients." He told her, kissing her before waiting for her to go in the kitchen. "Will any cookies work or are they specific ones?"

"There was a recipe, but mom and I bought ginger snaps. Somehow the grocery store is lacking in labor inducing ginger cookies."

"How dare they!" He replied as he started making the coffee. "Find me the recipe." He threw his phone on the table and Rory grabbed it.

"Aren't you afraid I'm going to see your texts from your mistress?"

"I delete them." He deadpanned.

"Here it is." She told him, handing him the phone back with a page open in the browser a few moments later. "I love that you've not only decided to forgo your technology hatred, but embraced it fully."

"You made me. I hate that thing." He reminded her.

"That way you don't have to get out of bed to check your emails."

"Small perk." He conceded, reading through the recipe. "We have all this crap. You should have told me yesterday, I could have made a batch then."

"You're perfect." She pretended to swoon over him.

"I know."

"And so incredibly modest." She made a face at him.

"How's the baby today?" He asked as he started pulling things out of cabinets.

"She's kicking away. Soon, my internal organs will get some rest."

"Contractions?"

"Occasionally, but nothing steady."

"We're really going to be at a loss for things to talk about once she's born, aren't we?" He asked as he started to mix things together into a bowl.

"As long as we don't end up having actual conversations about her diapers, we'll be fine."

"Ugh."

"My thoughts exactly." Rory nodded. "Have I told you recently how hot you are when you make me cookies?"

"You sure it's not the oven?"

"Smart ass, your dad." She said, looking at her stomach.

"If only you didn't love me." He kissed the top of her head, putting a cup of coffee next to her on the table. "Do you want some licorice to eat while I make these?"

"No. I really, really hate licorice."

"So you bought it…?"

"Out of desperation. It's a last resort."

"You know what you eat is going to do jack shit about labor, right?"

"Yes, but I'm going to say with a clear conscience that I've tried everything the internet recommended."

"That's a source of sanity right there. Next you'll be taking advice from Liz."

She rolled her eyes, sipping from the cup. "I'll take any advice if it works."

"Stay away from her anyway. I don't want her convincing you giving birth in the living room is a good plan."

"I have some limits. No." She groaned as her phone started ringing again. "I don't even care who it is."

"What if it's Lorelai?"

"She has a different ringtone. It's probably grandma again. Or Miss Patty. "

"How many times has she called you?"

"Patty or grandma?"

"Patty."

"Five. Babette is up to seven in the last two days. Taylor only twice."

"Town of lunatics." Jess said.

"You're one of us."

"Never." He replied, walking to her and kissing her. "And remember I'm making you cookies before you say that again."

"I apologize. I never meant to hurt you." She laughed, drinking more coffee.

"Better."

"What's the ETA on the cookies?"

"About twenty minutes, why?"

"Because I think I need to answer that phone before someone has a coronary."

"Or they assume you've gone into labor and spread the rumor through town, making your mother drive back here."

"Or that." Pulling out the phone from her pocket, she braced herself. "Fun just never stops."


	70. Take Two

**A/N: I hope you enjoy the next couple of chapters. They've been a very long time coming. **

* * *

**Take Two**

"What do you think my chances are of convincing the hospital to give me an epidural now?" Rory asked, pacing around the living room between mild contractions on Wednesday evening. "I mean, come on, it's not going to be that long, hook me up to some drugs and let's go. Epidural on the rocks, that's my new business plan. We're going to be billionaires."

"Vodka's the best I can do."

"Good, hand me the bottle." She joked, sitting down next to him. "Come on, kid, pop out already!" She growled at her bump before leaning against the sofa. "I'm sorry, you must be so tired listening to me complain about this."

"Yet bearing it stoically." Jess smiled, kissing her cheek. "Look, you have to do the giving birth part so you can complain all you want."

"Sounds like a fair compromise."

"Plus Luke would kick my ass if I said something."

"There's that." She giggled, grabbing the take away menu from the table. "Oh, screw Chinese food. I've been eating nothing else for the past week and it's not done anything."

"Thank God."

"Hah, that tired of it?"

"You have no idea." He admitted, laughing. "What will it be?"

"Indian? I don't think I can deal with anything not spicy by this point, it would taste too bland."

"Indian's fine. As long as it's not going to be for another week."

"Nah, I plan on switching to Thai tomorrow."

"And after?"

"Get a burger, smother it in hot sauce. It will be the only way to hide the taste since it's not going to be one of Luke's burgers. I could kill for one of those right now." Rory replied wistfully.

"Call him up and tell him to bring you one."

"Because I'm sure he has nothing better to do."

"You underestimate your power."

Instead of replying, she grabbed his hand, squeezing it as she had another contraction. "Ow." She moaned through her clenched teeth. "Stupid damned pain."

"Is there anything I can do?"

She shook her head in reply, leaning forward as far as she could, waiting for the pain to pass. "What were we talking about?" She asked weakly when it was done, opening her eyes again.

"Dinner."

"Indian?"

"Anything you want." Jess smiled, kissing her.

"Will you get me a pony when I actually go in real labor if I ask for it?"

"Probably."

"Don't, I hate horses." She laughed, grabbing the menu from the table.

* * *

"Don't get excited, but my contractions have been at fifteen minutes for two hours now." Rory waddled up to Jess in bed the next morning. "I mean, I know it's not close, but it's the first time they've been steady and oh, God, I might get rid of the Space Hopper that I seem to have swallowed soon."

"I see you're taking this calmly." He smirked, taking the cup from her.

"It's either excited or curled up into a ball crying right now."

"I'll take excited." Jess nodded, placing a kiss on her lips.

"I think it was the jumping jack that did it."

"You tried to do a jumping jack?"

"It was very graceful."

"I can imagine."

"No, you really can't. It was quite a sight." She said. "Can we walk to the mall now? And coffee shop? And Timbuktu for all I care as long as I can walk somewhere and help move this along."

"You don't think getting back to the hospital from Timbuktu would take a while?"

"Yes, because that's the question when it comes to walking to an African city. Damn." She whined, rubbing the side of her stomach. "The pain better not get any worse."

"Feel free to hit me when it does."

"Make sure to stand nearby."

"I will." He kissed her before standing up. "I'm going to go take a shower and then we can go somewhere."

"I'll be downstairs."

* * *

"I've got to admit, the only good part of being overdue is seeing everyone's face when they ask when I'm due and I say last week." Rory mused as they sat down in a coffee shop later that day.

"I'm glad you found a positive."

"The only one. Ow."

"Contraction?"

"Kick." She answered, shaking her head. "Listen, kid, I'll make you a deal. If you're born in the next twenty four hours, I'll forget all about that no coffee before sixteen and sneak you some coffee when your dad's not looking."

"She has to be at least fourteen."

"Eight."

"Twelve." He countered.

"Mom started giving me coffee at eight and there's nothing wrong with me!"

"Where do I begin?" Jess joked and Rory leaned closer, kissing him.

"Ten." She mumbled before cupping his face in her hand, placing another kiss on his lips. "It's a compromise."

"Fine, ten. As long as it's half a cup."

"Three quarters?" She tried to push it between more kisses.

"Half." He declared.

"Better than nothing." Rory shrugged, biting her lip happily as she pulled back. "Now you just have to be born." She looked down at her stomach again.

"If bribing her with coffee doesn't work, nothing will."

"I hope you're right."

* * *

"_Are you in labor yet?"_ Lorelai asked when Rory answered her phone. _"And remember I'm your mother and you said I can ask and I have been suffering for you because everyone in town asks me now that they can't reach you."_

"I…don't know."

"_Oh…"_ She exclaimed in shock. _"I… So… This is the first time you've not answered me with a resounding no."_

"I've been contracting every ten minutes or so. And I think they're getting closer."

"They are." Jess said from his seat, eyes not moving from the book he'd been staring at, not able to read.

"Don't say that, you'll jinx it. Right now we think or they might, get it?" She addressed her husband, giggling.

"_Hey, you were talking to me!"_ Lorelai whined. _"How are you doing?"_

"Anxious." She shrugged. "And out of chocolate."

"_You have failed me."_

"It's Jess' fault! He won't go to the store to buy me more."

"_I don't think I can blame him for that."_

"Way to be on my side." Rory pouted. "What's new with you?"

"_Nothing much. Kirk came by the inn today to ask if he could set up an ice cream cart outside."_

"Why?"

"_Because Taylor wouldn't give him a license to operate his own unless he put it there since he has the candy store's one and there's apparently something in the town bylaws about ice cream cart density."_

"Ice cream cart density?"

"_You can't oversaturate the market. Basic economics."_

"What did you say?" She asked, grimacing as she started another contraction. Seeing her face, Jess extended his hand and waited for her to squeeze it.

"_That he can't put it there and if really wants one, he'll either have to go in the forest or leave town!"_

"Uh-huh."

"_You ok?"_ Lorelai noticed her strained tone.

"Contraction."

"_Oh my God this is so exciting!"_ She exclaimed before she caught herself. _"Other than you being in pain. I don't like that part."_

"We're all in consensus over not liking it."

"_Do you want me to head over now and see if I can distract you?"_

"Yes. No. I don't know." Rory grimaced, squeezing Jess' hand harder. "No. Stay home, we'll call you when we're on our way to the hospital. If we ever get to that point."

"_I'm pretty sure you will eventually have to."_

"Ever the optimist." She smiled again, slouching back against the couch. "I'm not going to let it happen like last time, we're only going when I know for sure we won't be sent back."

"_Just don't wait until you have to push. It's too late then."_

"Thank you, mother."

"_Always here to help."_

"Go help someone else then, I'm all helped out."

"_Great, now you shun me!"_ Lorelai sighed dramatically. _"After all I've done. I should get back to work."_ She realized.

"Playing hooky?"

"_Just long enough to see how you're doing so I can pass it along to the next person who asks."_

"Are they really driving you crazy?"

"_No."_ She lied.

"Ok. Hopefully I'll call you later."

"_I'll ask Sookie to be on standby."_

"Love you, mom."

"_Love you too, kid."_

* * *

"I can't take this any more!" Rory growled, pacing around the living room. "Wait until they're at five minutes? Screw them, I can't wait! Why has no one figured out a way to speed up things and get me to the hospital now?"

"I don't think they would send you home."

"Yes, they would. Because they are evil. Everyone is." She sighed, stopping and closing her eyes, trying to ride out another contraction. "Fuck…" She moaned, breathing in and out loudly. "Ow, ow, ow, ow."

Grimacing, Jess stood up, walking to her and trying to put his hand on the small of her back but she pushed it away.

"Don't."

"Ok." He nodded, leaning against the wall, watching his wife. When she was done, she walked to him and kissed his cheek.

"Sorry. I don't want anything touching me right now."

"Nah, I get it."

"You sure?"

"Yes." He answered with a nod, placing his hand on the back of her neck and pulling closer for a kiss. "I hate not being able to help you."

"Being here helps." She told him going in for another kiss. "But I wouldn't object if you knocked me out."

"Let me find a bat. How's the pain?"

"Worse. Way worse."

"What do you want to do?"

"Wait." She shrugged. "Well, not want, but I should."

"At least call Lorelai and tell her to come over, it's going to be a while before she gets here."

"But then it will be real."

"Is it not real now?"

"Sort of." She admitted. "But not real enough that my brain has processed that we might have a baby before tomorrow." They were both quiet when she finished her sentence, letting the words sink in for the first time. "Whoa." Rory was the first one to recover. "There's a good chance we could hold Brett later today."

"Can we focus on this first? Because I'm barely holding it together here." Jess said, his hand cupping her face. "I don't do well when you're hurting."

"You don't have to be here."

"Like I could be anywhere else. We're in this together."

"No, Jess, I…"

Cutting her off with a kiss, he smiled. "I'm here as long as you need me. And I can't really miss the birth of our kid now can I?"

"Suppose not."

"Good, it's settled. Now pick up your phone, call your mom and Luke and tell them to get here as soon as they can. And then whoever else it was on your list."

"Nuh-uh, no way! Changed my mind."

"On?"

"No one else can be there."

"What?" He asked, surprised by the change of plans.

"Look, mom I need, Luke I want, but everyone else is going to stress me the hell out and I don't want to deal with anything. So tough luck, they can find out later."

"You don't want to at least call them?"

"I'll call grandma and grandpa when we leave for the hospital and tell them they can come tomorrow. Dad too. You'll take Liz?"

"Yeah."

"Good, we have a plan."

* * *

"Bag. We've forgotten the hospital bag." Rory almost cried as Jess started driving towards the hospital a few hours later.

"It's in the trunk."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes. Calm down."

"I can't calm down, I'm in labor!" She yelled at him. "Have I lost my mind, I can't be in labor. Not happening. This is scary and it hurts and I need it to stop right this minute. I take back everything I've said, I don't want to have this baby, I'm fine with a c-section." She rambled, clutching Jess' hand. "Oh, no, snacks, we forgot to buy you food and now you're not going to have anything to eat."

"Rory, I'm fine."

"No, you're not, you don't have food!"

"The hospital has a cafeteria." He tried to remind her but she started contracting again so instead of a reply he only got some strained huffs.

"You can't leave me alone!" She told him when she was feeling better, letting out a breath. "I don't care if the cafeteria is right next to my room, you can't leave." She continued. "Damn it, I can't sit in this chair, it hurts too much." She moved around, trying to find a different position. "Who the hell decided seats are a good idea?"

"Rory…"

"No, they're terrible!"

"I'm sorry."

"Why, did you design the car?" She snapped at him before squeezing his hand again. "I'm sorry."

"I'm driving as fast as I can."

"Don't crash."

"Not planning to."

"Does anyone plan to crash their car?"

"People who're trying to scam their insurance?"

"Oh, yeah." She giggled. "Jess, I'm scared."

"I know."

"And you're calm and I really wish you were panicking with me."

"I promise I will the second we get to the hospital."

"No, you can't then, you'll have to fill in insurance forms."

"Fine, after I'm done with that." He said, tapping his free hand on the steering wheel as he waited for the light to turn green.

"Ok, that sounds all right. Have we called everyone that had to be called?"

"Your mom is taking care of it."

"And there's nothing for me to panic? Other than this whole labor thing?"

"There isn't."

"Damn." Rory sighed. "You know what no one tells you? That this stupid thing hurts even when I'm not contracting."

"Have I told you yet I'm sorry?"

"Yes, you have. It's ok. Baby. She's gonna make it worth it. Aw, damn." She moaned, clenching her hand around his tightly again. With a glance at the speedometer, he accelerated even more, trying to weave through the traffic.


	71. It's still a girl!

**A/N: Holy freak out Batman. This is happening. This was such a ridiculously emotional chapter for me to write. I know I've told you this before but my entire experience with pregnancy? Watching way too many reruns of '16 and Pregnant' and 'One Born Every Minute' and reading a lot of blogs. Which is to say unpleasant details have been skimmed over and times have been fudged. Creative licence, ok? **

**Ashley, I hope you haven't had your baby yet. You've been my deadline in writing this :P. And I hope you have an easy delivery and healthy baby (and if it's happened already, silly tiny human being in a rush!). **

**Thank you for all the reviews and PMs and your general awesomeness. **

**And now, at the end of this very long note, enjoy and leave a review. **

* * *

**It's (still) a girl!**

"Hi! How can I help?" The young nurse at reception greeted them with a smile a few minutes later and Rory glared at her, clutching Jess' hand.

"My wife's in labor."

"Aw, great!"

"Great? Really?" Rory snarled. "Which way to the epidural?"

"I'm sorry, we're going to have a doctor in triage see you so they can decide if you're staying tonight or not."

"Jess!" She let out a half whine, half hiss.

"I don't think 'if' is a possibility."

"How about I get someone here to show you the way to triage? Do you need a wheelchair?"

Rory shook her head, hands clutching the counter again as she started another contraction.

"Can you hurry up, please?" Jess urged the nurse, trying to rub Rory's back at the same time.

* * *

"Congratulations, you're in labor." The young doctor announced as he finished the exam.

"So that's what the stomachache is all about." She snapped at him.

"I'm going to see that you get into a room and then the on-call doctor will come see you and she'll explain what comes next."

"And get me an epidural?" She asked, a hint of hope in her voice.

"Yes." The doctor nodded reassuringly. "The nurse will come get you in a minute." He told them before leaving. Standing up off the table, she tried to adjust the hospital gown, pulling at its sides.

"God, this is terrible."

"I'm sure they'll let you change once you get to your room."

"They better." She whined, resting her head on his shoulder as she pushed the lower half of her body out. "Jess, I can't do this."

"Yes, you can."

"No, I really, really can't. Please make it stop."

"I'm sorry." He kissed her temple, watching her start her rhythmic breathing again as she dug her nails into his arms. Hearing her phone ring in her purse, she motioned towards it, letting go of Jess so he could pick it up.

"Hey."

"_We're almost there, how is she?" _Lorelai asked.

After glancing over at Rory who was now bending down so that her forehead was almost reaching the exam table, he stepped back towards her and put his hand on the small of her back, rubbing it. "In pain. We're waiting on the nurse to come get her into a real room."

"_Tell her we've just gotten off the turnpike and we'll be there in twenty minutes, ok?"_

"I will."

"_Go take care of her!" _

"Your mom's almost here." He told Rory as soon as Lorelai had hung up again, putting the phone in his pocket. "Twenty minutes."

"Ok."

"Is there anything I can do?"

"Keep rubbing my back. That seems to be helping a little bit."

"Kick me off when it stops helping, ok?"

"Oh, trust me, I will." She told him. "They better have a machine that goes ping in the room they're sending me to." She tried to joke in an attempt to get her mind off the pain.

"And the most expensive machine - in case the Administrator comes." He added, finally getting a small laugh out of her.

* * *

"Hi! I hear you're in labor!" Laura announced as she walked in the room they'd been moved to a while later. "And on a night when I'm on call thus eliminating the need for them to call me from home."

"I planned it." Rory replied.

"How considerate." She laughed, sitting down on a chair as Rory kept pacing the room. "Hi, Jess. You holding out or should I have a doctor on standby for you?"

"I'm good." He nodded, his hands not leaving Rory's back.

"The intern tells me you're at four centimeters."

"Did he also tell you I'm about ready to throttle someone for any sort of pain meds?"

"No." She shook her head. "I'll make you a deal. You lie down on the table and let me examine you and I will go track down the anesthesiologist the second we're done."

"That is possibly the best thing anyone's ever said to me."

"Wait until the anesthesiologist gets here, you'll love him even more." She laughed waiting for Rory to get to the bed but she stopped, trying to ride out another contraction. "How often are they now?"

"About three minutes." Jess answered.

"Ouch." She grimaced. "I'll try to hurry up."

"Please do." He almost begged, distressed from his wife's pain.

A few minutes later, Laura stood up again, having finished her check. "It all looks good, baby's heartbeat is strong, you're moving along nicely. She's going to be here before you know it."

"Great."

"Now let me go find you some hard drugs."

"You're my favorite person ever." Rory smiled, relieved.

"I better be since I'm not even strapping you down to monitors until you're feeling better."

"Hulk smash!"

"Hah!" Laura laughed. "I'll be back." She announced before leaving the room. As soon as she'd closed the door behind her, Rory's phone started ringing again and he pulled it out, holding it out to her but she shook her head, curling up into a ball and biting her lip.

"Yeah?" He answered, stroking her hair with his free hand.

_"What room are you in? The directions we got from reception are useless and Luke says we should go left and I say right and someone is going to die soon if I can't be there."_

"Fourth floor, room 432. Turn right at the elevator and go in a straight line."

_"Told you it was right!_" He heard her tell Luke. _"We'll be right there!"_

"Ok." He hung up the phone again. "Your mom is here."

"Ok." Rory nodded, getting off the table again. "Fuck it, movies lie. There's no way anyone can put up with that pain while laying on their back all the time."

"Do you want some ice chips or something?"

"So I can pelt the nurses?" She shook her head, bending over again and letting out a low moan. Jumping up from his place, Jess tried to start rubbing her back again but she swatted his arm away so he decided to simply stand next to her. "S…" She tried to apologize a few moments later but he shook his head, kissing her.

"No need."

Hearing a knock at the door, Rory smiled. "That's probably mom! Come in!" She called louder and Lorelai barged in.

"Oh, God, I finally found you!" She rushed to Rory's side, immediately hugging her. "How are you doing?"

"Holding up. Where's Luke?"

"Outside staring at a wall or a plant or something. I think you might have to come drag him in yourself to convince him it's all right."

"Do you think he'll mind waiting? I'd rather not have him see me like this." She motioned at her hospital gown and socks. "I keep meaning to change, but I can't focus on anything."

"I think he might even prefer it." Lorelai assured her. "What can I do?"

"Nothing." She shook her head, starting to pace again.

"Is the walking working?"

"It's better than being still." She replied with a shrug. "Only time I'll ever exercise voluntarily. Hey, can you go down to the car and grab that damned bag so I can change?" She looked at Jess and he nodded.

"Anything else I can get you?"

"A time machine so I can go back nine months and make damn sure this didn't happen?"

"I can send Luke, it'll give him something to do and Jess won't have to leave." Lorelai offered. "Not sure he can find a time machine though."

"Then just the bag will do." Rory added before starting to huff again, holding on to Jess. Taking the key out of his pocket with one hand he threw it at Lorelai as he wrapped his other one around his wife, trying to comfort her.

"I hate you." She moaned between breaths.

"I know." He kissed her temple as Lorelai picked up the key from the floor where it had fallen, an apologetic smile on her face.

"Give me some warning next time." She managed to get out before almost running out the door and into Luke's arms. "Ok, this was a bad idea."

"What was?"

"Being here! My baby's in pain and I can't fix it!" She whined. "I mean I'm really proud of her because she's incredible and not even screaming her head off which she has every right to do but hell, it really sucks not being able to make it better. Ok, I'm all right, I had to get that out." She handed him the key. "They need the bag out of the car and I volunteered you so Jess could stay with her."

"Good, errands I can do. Anything else?"

"There was a mention of a time machine." She smiled. "Thanks, hon."

"Don't mention it. So she's…?"

"She's in labor." Lorelai sighed. "It's not pretty."

"And Jess?"

"Calm, giant kudos to him. I'm worse than he is which I can't say I saw coming." Taking another breath, she shook her head a couple of times, trying to clear it. "I should go back inside, thank you so much for helping."

"Let me know if there's anything else you need, ok?" He placed a small kiss on her lips.

"I will." She braced herself, opening the door again after a quick knock. "How's it going?"

"Peachy." Rory replied, pacing again. "You had two kids? You're insane!" She told her mother, only half joking.

"Why do you think I waited twenty seven years?"

"Not long enough. Can I kick you?" She looked at Jess and he nodded in reply.

"Yes."

"Too bad I can't lift my legs."

"I can do it for you!" Lorelai volunteered.

"Nah, I don't think it would be as satisfying."

"Plus you'd take too much pleasure in it." Jess added.

"Given how much you annoy me, it's a miracle I haven't hit you yet."

"Where the fuck is that doctor?" Rory groaned, clinging to Jess again. "Aw, shit."

"She does know some bad words." Lorelai joked, taking a tentative step closer. "What can I do?"

Rory motioned for her back in reply, eyes closed as continued to breathe.

"How about now, should I hit him now?" Lorelai asked jokingly, pushing her palms into Rory's back.

"Uh-huh." She moaned in reply, clutching Jess's shirt. "And then murder the doctor for not being here!"

"I'm sure they'll be here in a minute." She tried to calm her daughter. "Do you want me to go find someone?"

Rory shook her head in reply, releasing her grip a little bit. "My feet are freezing."

"D'you want my socks?" Jess offered with a small smirk, pushing a strand of hair behind her ear. "Come on, one time offer."

"I'll wait for Luke to get here, thanks."

"Try to be nice." He kissed her, wrapping his arm around her quickly. "You're amazing." He added, whispering so that only she could hear.

"Liar." She replied just as softly, kissing him again before turning around to look at her mother. "Have you called everyone?"

"Yes. It's all good. Your dad and grandparents are driving over, but they're under strict directions to stay at their hotels unless told otherwise."

"Right, 'cause grandma…"

"Didn't tell her what hospital you're at." She grinned. "I don't make rookie mistakes, babe."

"What if she calls all of them?"

"Then I will personally kick her out of here."

"Keep talking." She urged her, holding on to Jess again.

"Already?"

"Blame your daughter." She winced.

"Lane said you should call her as soon as you feel like it and she's keeping her fingers crossed, Liz and TJ are at some fair in a town I've never heard of but they said they can be here tomorrow if you want them to and to also give them a call whenever, Sookie is over the moon and Babette practically pounced on me when we left to go drop Will off like she's been doing for the past two weeks so the entire town knows by now." Lorelai rambled, not stopping her massaging.

"Ok."

"_Hi, I have the bag!"_ Luke called from the other side of the door.

"Be there in a minute!" Lorelai replied. "Hey, socks."

"Yay." Rory managed to squeeze out, completely devoid of any enthusiasm.

"That's the spirit." Jess joked, kissing her forehead.

"Ok, better." Rory announced.

"You're doing great and I will be back in a second." Lorelai smiled, smoothing her daughter's hair down before heading to the door.

"Can I do anything else?" Jess asked when they were alone.

"You're amazing." She told him, placing a quick kiss on his lips. "And I love you so please ignore anything else I say."

"Ok." He smiled.

"Socks!" Lorelai called as she entered the room again, holding the bag in her hand. "I have socks and clothes and whatever else you may have packed in here."

"Half the house." Jess said, taking the bag from her and opening it. "Long blue shirt?" He asked, picking up the item.

"And the fuzzy socks."

"Pink and yellow stripes. Nice." Lorelai giggled. "Do you need help changing?"

"If one of you can undo the stupid knot I triple tied to make sure my butt doesn't hang out I'll be eternally grateful."

"Pft, you're not really in hospital if your butt isn't showing." Lorelai said, her fingers working on the string at the same time. "Done." She announced after a few seconds, taking a step back and turning around.

"Thank you." Rory replied, starting to take the hospital gown off with Jess' help. "God, this feels so much better."

"You'd think someone would have figured out a way to make those stupid gowns comfortable." Lorelai quipped turning around again. "Aw, you look pretty."

"You lie, but I'll take it."

"I never lie!" She replied, trying to fake a shocked voice. "Socks?"

"I'm going to need to…" She gesticulated, looking for Jess' hand with her other one. "There's only really time to do one thing between these things." Sitting down on the edge of the bed as soon as she felt better, she picked up one of the socks before looking hesitantly at her feet. "Can I get some help? I'm too tired for the contortionism this requires."

"I got it." Jess told her, kneeling down in front of her as Lorelai rubbed her arm gently.

"It's ok, honey, the doctor will be here in a minute." The second she finished her sentence there was another knock on the door followed by Laura and a man in a lab coat walking in. "Man, I'm good. I will win the lottery tomorrow." Lorelai mumbled.

"Hi, everyone!" She pointed at the new man. "This is John, also known as Dr. Ecker and he's a very nice man who's going to make sure you stop being in pain." She addressed Rory.

"Hi… Rory." He finished after a short pause, reading the name off the chart. "I see you've signed everything, that makes it easy."

"Yeah, somehow I figured reading would be the last thing I'd want to do right now." She tried to smile.

"Ok, I'll talk you through this while I get everything ready."

* * *

"If I'd known drugs felt this good, I would have taken some in college." Rory giggled half an hour later when the doctors had left again. Pulling the sheets up as she lay on the bed, she stared at the machine attached to her, not being able to stop her awe. "I can't believe that thing says I'm having a contraction."

"Never once did you take anything?" Lorelai asked from her seat next to the bed, everyone finally relaxed not that Rory's pain was gone.

"Nope."

"I feel like I failed a bit in raising you."

"Sorry, mother, was I supposed to develop a cocaine habit?"

"It would have gone with your boat stealing ways." Jess smirked, his hand not letting go of Rory's.

"Did you at least smoke a cigarette?"

"Nope."

"Definitely failed." Lorelai laughed.

"Oh God, I was so mean to the receptionist." Rory blurted as the realization hit her. "And the first doctor."

"Was she?" Lorelai asked, surprised and Jess nodded.

"A bit. I'm sure they're fine."

"I don't care, I need to apologize. One of you needs to remind me to apologize as soon as they let me out of this bed again!"

"Did you call someone Doogie Howser and ask for a grownup instead? Because if you didn't, I still have you beat."

"I can't remember what I said, but I know it wasn't very nice. And Jess didn't even offer to buy me a pony."

"I'm officially lost now." Lorelai said.

"Inside joke." Rory tried to explain. "Please remind me to apologize?"

"If you forget, which I'm sure you won't given that you're about to worry yourself into a panic attack here, I will." Lorelai told her, trying to calm her down. "I'm going to go check on Luke, you two behave."

"Luke! I forgot about him!"

"It's fine, honey, you're not allowed to worry about anything but giving birth, ok? I think Will's birth traumatized him enough, being in here might push him over the edge." She added before slipping out the door, not giving her a chance to reply.

"How are you?" Jess asked, kissing her forehead.

"Good." She laughed in reply. "So good. You?"

"Hanging in."

"Are you ok with mom being here?"

"Yes, don't worry." He kissed her forehead again. "I'm probably better since she got here knowing that if I faint or something she can take care of you."

"Oh, and the team of doctors were insufficient?"

"Not the same." He smiled. "You better be worth the trouble, spawn." He put his free hand on her stomach between the monitor's straps.

"Well, she's not going to be born today." Rory pouted, looking at the clock on the wall. "How's the twelfth for a birthday?"

"Any chance it could happen after the twenty four hour window ends so I don't have to fight you over giving her coffee when she turns twelve?"

"Ten and no." She smiled. "I've waited long enough for her to get here."

"Damn." He chuckled. "I love you so much."

"I love you too." She smiled back at him, pressing her lips to his. "Now go get some food, you've got a long night ahead and one of us should enjoy the vending machines."

"I'm not hungry."

"You haven't had any food since lunch."

"Fine, let me rephrase that. I'm not going anywhere."

"Yes, you are." Rory said as Lorelai walked back in the room.

"Yes he is what?"

"Going to go get some food." She tried to convince him, pulling his hand as she tried to get him to stand up. "Go. You can't say no to your wife when she's in labor, it's in the rules."

"She's right." Lorelai told him. "Go, I'll be here."

"Ten minutes." Jess conceded, standing up.

After looking at her one more time hesitantly only to be met with a shooing motion, Jess stepped outside, collapsing in a chair next to Luke almost immediately. Burying his face in his hands, he motioned for his uncle to wait a minute as he tried to pull himself together.

"This is about as close to hell as it gets, isn't it?"

Giving his shoulder a reassuring squeeze, Luke smiled. "It gets better real soon. Do you need a pep talk?" He asked his nephew and he shook his head in reply.

"I'm fine now that Rory's not in pain anymore." He answered. "She...this whole thing...it's mind blowing." He looked at the door, a smile tugging at the corner of his mouth.

"Yeah, it is."

"I'm going to get some coffee and a chocolate bar or something, do you need anything?" He announced, standing up.

"The machines are right there." Luke pointed to the ones a few feet down the corridor from the chairs. "There's a better selection if you go that way."

"Is this what you've been doing? Scouting vending machine locations?" Jess asked, standing up and looking through his pockets for change.

"That and answering calls."

"Who called?"

"Everyone."

"How many did you yell at?"

"Only Taylor." He replied with a smile as Jess took the full coffee cup from the machine, taking his seat again.

In the meantime, inside.

"You're going to be a mom really soon." Lorelai gushed, pulling her chair closer to her daughter. "God, kid, I'm so proud of you."

"Even if I didn't do drugs?"

"Never said you're perfect."

"I'm so tired." Rory yawned, rubbing her eyes. "I can't even remember how long I've been awake for."

"Then take a nap." Lorelai suggested.

"But it feels weird. I'm not supposed to be sleeping while in labor."

"The more rested you are, the easier pushing that baby out is going to be. Trust me. Plus this way you get to spend tomorrow staring at your beautiful baby girl instead of wishing you were dead when the adrenaline rush finally wears off."

"Please, the second she's out I'm drinking the biggest cup of coffee in the world. That'll probably keep me awake for another day."

"Maybe, but there's no reason you can't do both. Nap now, coffee later." Lowering her voice like she had a secret, Lorelai grinned. "I made Luke stop by the diner and fill a thermos with coffee. It's probably going to be cold by the time you'll want it, but it's better than the stuff they have here."

"You're a genius."

"Figured your first cup of coffee in a while has to not be horrible. Now go to sleep."

"Fine." She conceded, trying to get comfortable in the hospital bed.

* * *

"Hi." Laura walked in the room later that night. "How are we doing?"

"We're good. Great. Excellent. Trying to find a divorce lawyer so that I can get rid of Jess and marry the anesthesiologist."

"He's already married."

"Damn. Looks like you're stuck with me." She squeezed Jess's hand.

"Where's your mother?"

"Went to get coffee."

"Ok, let me do a quick check and see how things are going." Laura said as she sat down on the edge of the bed. "Hopefully you can have this baby soon."

"I don't know, I'm actually enjoying it now. I haven't slept this well in a while."

"No rush then?" She said. A few minutes later, she took off the gloves, a big smile on her face. "I've got some very good news. You're at ten centimeters. Any pressure?"

"A bit." She nodded.

"Ok then, how would you like to push this baby out?"

"Seriously?" She asked, mouth half open in shock.

"You're good to go."

"I…uh…can we wait for mom to get back?" She replied when she managed to form a coherent thought again.

"Sure. I'm going to go get a nurse, I'll tell her to get back here if I see her." Laura said before leaving the room.

"Ok, now I'm scared." Rory admitted and Jess kissed her hand.

"You'll be fine."

"Big baby, tiny space!" She whined. "What if I can't do this and I end up pushing for hours and then they have to give me a c-section anyway?"

"Breathe." Jess told her, giving her a quick kiss. "You're going to do great like you have so far and she's going to be here in no time and nothing bad is going to happen."

"You're not allowed to look. Eyes on my face at all times. That is not the visual I want you to have of my body for the rest of your life."

"I promise."

Taking a deep breath, Rory looked into his eyes, squeezing his hand even harder. "Tell me one more time it'll be fine."

"It will be fine. And we're going to meet our baby very soon. Keep thinking of that." Jess whispered in reply, kissing her temple. "I love you."

"Ok, that helps. Love you too."

"What did I miss?" Lorelai asked, walking back in the room.

"Almost the birth."

"What?" She asked, this time shock taking over her.

"Doctor was here, turns out I'm at ten centimeters so you know, baby's about to make an appearance." As soon as she finished her sentence there was another knock at the door and Lorelai opened it, letting Laura and the nurse in.

"It's time!" She mouthed to Luke in the hallway before closing the door again, trying not to squeal with joy.

"Good, mom's back." Laura said as she sat back down on the end of the bed. "You're both going to help with this?"

"Yes." The replied in unison.

"Then grab a leg. Rory, you ready?"

"If I say no, will this stop?"

"Not really."

"Then I'm ready." She giggled, trying to hide the panic in her voice.

"Ok, here's how we're going to do this – we're going to do three counts of ten with small breaks in between while you push. Then you can have a longer break before we start again. Is that clear?"

"Yes." Rory nodded, pushing her hair back before taking Jess' and Lorelai's hands again.

"Good, we're going to start at the next contraction." She exclaimed, keeping an eye on the monitor. "This is it, folks. Push!" She urged Rory and she dropped her chin to her chest, holding her breath as she tried to push as hard as she could. "One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten." Laura counted and Rory took a breath when she reached the last number, trying to get as much air in as possible. "And again. One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten." She spurred her on again. "Last one. One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten. Great job, Rory." She told her when she was done and Rory threw her head back against the pillow.

"This is hard work."

"You're doing a brilliant job." Laura reassured her.

"What she said." Lorelai nodded.

"Round two." Laura told everyone. "One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten." She paused, motioning for Rory to take a breath. "One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten. Good, you're doing great, and again. One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten." As soon as she was done, she smiled at Rory again. "How are you?"

"I don't know." She bit her lip, tightening her grip on Jess' hand.

"Let me know if you need to rest."

"I don't think so."

"In that case, let's try it again." As soon as the monitor started showing another contraction she looked at Rory, giving her a nod to let her know it was time to go. "One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten. Deep breath, One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten and one last time and then you can have a break. One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten." She let out a small chuckle when everyone in the room let out a breath at the same time.

"You're doing so great, Rory." Lorelai cheered her on.

"Uh-huh."

"Aw, no, you can't quit on me now." Laura said. "Again or do you want a break?"

"Again."

"That's the spirit. One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten, breath, One, two, three, four, five, six..."

"I can't do this." Rory whined as she let out a breath, looking at Jess and he leaned over, kissing her forehead.

"Yes, you can. I know you can, ok?"

"But…"

"Hey, trust me." He told her, looking straight into her eyes. "I love you."

"Let's go." Rory told the doctor, a new-found confidence in her voice.

"Take a moment and breathe. You good for the next contraction?"

"Yes."

Looking up again some time later, her smile even bigger than before, Laura brought one hand up, her index and thumb nearly touching. "You are this close and boy, she's got hair. Now one more time, big, strong pushes and you're going to meet you daughter. Give it all you've got, ok?"

"I'm trying."

"Let's go. One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten." Barely stopping, Laura made a circular motion with her hand, trying to keep it going. "One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten. Big breath and one, two, three, four, five, six…stop." She exclaimed, barely containing her excitement. "Head's out!"

"I don't suppose you can yank her out now, can you?" Rory asked.

"Sorry, you have to do this yourself. But I promise you're going to be done in one more big push, ok?"

"Ok." Rory nodded, closing her eyes briefly.

"Last time. One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, done!" Laura counted, taking the baby carefully in her hands with the last word and holding her up for Rory to see. "It's a girl!"


	72. Introducing

**Introducing...**_  
_

_"Last time. One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, done!" Laura counted, taking the baby carefully in her hands with the last word and holding her up for Rory to see. "It's a girl!"_

"Congratulations!" She grinned before putting the squirming and crying newborn of Rory's chest. "You're going to be a handful, aren't you?" She joked as she grabbed a blanket from the nurse and started rubbing the baby with it gently, trying to warm her.

"Hi honey." Rory cooed, biting her lip to stop herself from crying as she wrapped one arm around the baby. "She's perfect, Jess." She glanced at her husband for a second before looking down at their daughter again. "Perfect." She whispered as she wiped her face with a corner of the blanket.

"You both are." Jess whispered in reply in Rory's ear, kissing her temple, his eyes not leaving their daughter.

"A bit messy though." Rory laughed.

"Told you to squint." Lorelai chimed in, wiping her eyes with the back of her left hand. "Shoot, I said I wasn't going to cry."

"Sorry to break the party, but would you like to cut the cord, Jess?"

"Sure." He nodded and Laura handed him a pair of scissors.

"Here." She indicated a place and he cut it before handing the scissors back to the doctor. "Great, almost done."

"Sh…" Rory tried to pacify the crying newborn. "If you're too much trouble, your dad's going to start threatening to feed you to the wolves again." She grinned, looking at Jess.

"I suppose we can keep her." He smiled, running his finger over the baby's cheek. "Maybe. On a trial basis."

"Shush or I'll get rid of you instead." Rory threatened, giggling. "Ok, I need to check fingers and toes." She pulled the blanket up, quickly counting. "All there."

"At least she won't need custom gloves. I'm not about to start knitting." Lorelai laughed.

"I think you lose grandmother points for that." Laura joked, pulling her gloves off her hands. "Right, well I'm done here. Are you ok to be left alone or would you like me to stay longer?"

"I don't know." Rory shook her head, biting her lip. "What if I do something stupid?"

"You'll be fine." She tried to reassure her. "Here's the one piece of advice you need about kids - they're far more resilient than they look. And I'm not leaving you alone in here, Jess and Lorelai can stay all they want. Plus there's the button conveniently located right next to your bed that you can ring and someone will rush to your side to help."

"Ok, in that case, you can go." Rory smiled.

"I'll be back in an hour or so to weigh her and get you to shower. Now bond."

"Any advice on that?"

"I hear coffee and gossip helps."

"Hah! I now have a doctor saying I can give her coffee!" She gloated, looking at Jess. "I win."

"Sorry, Jess." Laura tried to stop herself from laughing. "Try feeding her until you can find a nice coffee shop around here. And call for someone if you need help."

"Will do."

"Right. I'll see you all later. Congratulations again."

"Thanks." Rory waved as the doctor and nurse left the room before sinking back in the bed, looking at her daughter again.

"Worth the trouble?" Lorelai asked, grinning.

"Yeah, I'd say so."

"I'm going to go tell Luke and let you two be alone with her for a bit." She ran her hand over the baby's back. "You were so good, honey." She smiled at her daughter, kissing the top of her head. "And you're the most precious thing I have seen in a very long time and I will be back to cuddle you in a little bit." She told her granddaughter. "Do you want me to start making phone calls?"

"If you don't mind."

"Not at all."

"Mom?" Rory called to Lorelai as she stood in front of the door, hand on the handle.

"Yes?"

"Can you bring coffee when you come back?"

"You got it." Lorelai laughed before leaving.

"Hi." Rory let out a breath when they were finally alone, looking at her husband. "Come sit here." She asked him, patting the edge of the bed next to her and he did. "That was crazy."

"It was." He smiled, leaning over and kissing her softly. "You were incredible. Are."

"Hey, none of that, you're going to make me cry and I've been doing so well so far." She told him. "Do you want to hold her for a bit?"

"If you don't mind letting her go."

"Not to you." She shrugged, lifting her arms carefully and putting the baby in his. Taking her, Jess made sure to wrap the blanket around her again.

"She really does have your nose." He smiled, glancing at his wife.

"And everything else is you. I don't think I can sell the postman's her father story any longer." Rory joked, trying for the second time in less than a minute to stop herself from crying. "I love you so very much, Jess. And you, honey." She caressed their daughter's cheek with her fingers. "Though I was however hoping you'd cry."

"Sorry to disappoint."

"I'm pretty sure it's impossible to disappoint me right now." Rory told him, running her hand through his hair.

"She's tiny." Jess said.

"I have body parts that feel like they're starting to disagree with that statement."

"Do you want me to call the…"

"I'm fine, Jess, the drugs are starting to wear off a bit."

"I can go find vodka." He smirked. "This doesn't feel real."

"Have you tried poking her?"

Poking their daughter's stomach gently with his finger, he chuckled. "Oh, yeah, much better now."

"Told you so."

"Should we try and pick a middle name before someone comes and asks?"

"Probably. But I'm going to need to take her back from you because I've heard that the mother needs to hold the baby when deciding stuff like that."

"I think she's lying to me, spawn." Jess smiled, handing Rory the baby anyway.

"Aw, damn it." Rory whined when she finally started crying, wiping her eyes with the back of her right hand as her left arm cradled the baby securely. "I just realized I'm a mom and she's ours and …damn it. I was doing so well."

"Language, baby ears around." He teased her, leaning closer and kissing her temple.

"Funny man you dad is." She told the baby, snickering between tears. "Ok, I'm better. I think it's a victory I lasted this long really."

"Very proud of you."

"Yes, I should get a medal." She paused for a second. "We were going to pick a middle name."

"If I tell you something, will you finally hit me?"

"Maybe."

"I don't think she looks like a Brett." Jess shrugged, holding the baby's feet in one of his hands.

"Is it because she's a girl?" She giggled. "She's all squished and weird, should we really make a decision now?"

"Nope. We can give it some time and then come back to it."

"There you go, being rational."

"We could call her Gollum and be done with it."

"Please, she has way better hair." Rory replied. "So we don't have a first name either. This is not progress."

"We'll figure it out."

"Before she goes to college, I hope." She smiled. "Are you going to be grossed out if I try to feed her?"

"I'm not seventeen anymore."

"You practically ran out of the room every time mom tried to feed Will."

"Yeah, that had nothing to do with the action and everything to do with it being your mother."

"I suppose I can accept that." She nodded, giggling yet again. "Can you go get mom though?" She bit her lip, her joyful expression turning into one of concern. "I know it's stupid, but I'm not sure I can do this the right way and I'm worried she won't get enough milk."

"Sure." He stood up. Briefly putting his hand on the back of her neck, he kissed her head. "You have nothing to worry about, ok?"

"Keep telling me that." She asked, looking up at him.

"I will." He promised, kissing her head one more time.

"How about Catherine?" Her voice stopped Jess as he was about to head to the door. "Cate."

"What?"

"It was the only other name we seriously considered and I like it much better now that you'd only get away with only one Hemingway name. Plus I think it suits her."

Sitting back down on the other side of the bed, Jess looked at their daughter. "I like it too."

"There is the whole issue of naming her after a boring, one-dimensional character to consider though."

"One-dimensional? Come on!"

"Can we not argue literature for one day? …Probably not." She answered herself.

"You started it."

"What do you say?"

"Her middle name could be Lorelai. I remember some late night talks about how you'd like that."

"But…"

"We don't have to, I figured you'd want to." He kissed her.

"It was going to be one of those happy blubbering buts." She confessed. "Are you sure?"

"Yes."

"About both names?"

"Yes. Are you?"

"I think it's perfect."

"We've settled it then." He kissed Rory again before leaning down and kissing the baby's forehead. "You're going to have to find something else to hate me now that having a boy's name no longer applies, Cate."

"I'm sure there will be plenty." Rory said.

"I'm going to go find your mom." He told her, standing up again. Stopping halfway to the door, he turned around again, scratching the back of his head. "C or k?"

"Hm?"

"In the book, it's Catherine with a c and seriously, there's no point in calling her Kate with a k because…well, it's stupid. I don't feel like I need any more arguments for that."

"C is fine, Jess."

"Good."

"Your dad's weird." Rory told her daughter jokingly and Jess pretended to glare at her before leaving the room.

"Can I come back in now? This is not fair!" Lorelai pounced on him as soon as he stepped foot in the hallway and he chuckled with a nod.

"Yes. I was coming to get you."

"Oh, thank God. I'm going mad here and my mother isn't helping." She waved her phone around animatedly. "That woman is impossible!"

"Where's Luke?"

"Gone to the car to get coffee."

"I'll wait for him here." He told her and Lorelai stepped to the door before remembering something.

"Stand still." She told him before wrapping her arms around him in a hug. "Congratulations."

"What is it with you and this hugging thing?"

"It's an important day, I'm emotional."

"Did you get it all out of your system now?" He smirked when she let go.

"Yeah. I don't want to catch your cooties." Lorelai nodded before going in her daughter's hospital room. Digging through his pockets, Jess found a couple of one-dollar bills and fed them to the machine, waiting for his coffee.

"How are you?" Luke asked him, holding a thermos in his hand.

"Good." Jess smiled, taking the paper cup. "Really good."

"You know the hard part starts now, right?"

"Thanks, that's reassuring." He replied sarcastically.

"You'll be fine."

In the meantime, inside the hospital room.

"Hi! I think I'm doing this!" Rory exclaimed excitedly when she saw her mother, tilting her heads towards her feeding daughter.

"Looks like you are." Lorelai said as she sat down in one of the chairs. "How are you?"

"So happy." She smiled, cupping her baby's head in her free hand. "She's… God, I don't know how to describe it. Perfect."

"Yeah, that sounds right."

"Oh, we picked a name!" She told her excitedly. "A different one."

"Seriously? Tell me! Now!" She urged her daughter, waving her hands. "That should have been the first thing out of your mouth! Or Jess's!" She whined, still gesticulating. "You sure know how to bury the lead, don't you?"

"Catherine Lorelai Mariano. And yes, she is named after you." She interrupted her mother's rambling.

Fanning her face with her hands, Lorelai shut her eyes. "No way."

"Come on, you can't cry. I'll take it back."

"Fine, I'll stop." Lorelai sniffled, wiping her nose. "But it's not fair!"

"Life's not fair. Do you like it?"

"I love it." She nodded with a grin. "Mom will too now that she has a normal name."

"Yeah, until Jess tells her we named her after Trix."

"You wouldn't." Lorelai's jaw dropped. "Oh my God, please let him do that! She'll explode!"

"I'll see how much she annoys me today."

"You've finally reached your full evil potential. I'm so proud of you."

"How do I know when she's done eating?" Rory blurted, looking from the newborn to her mother. "The stupid book didn't tell me."

"You'll know."

"Yeah, that's what the book said too."

"Rory? Trust me." Lorelai told her. "You'll know. Maybe not today, but give it a couple of days."

"Hey. Can I come back in?" Jess poked his head in a room after a quick knock. "I have coffee." He waved the thermos he'd taken from Luke.

"Yes! Get in here!" Rory urged him. "Give me!" She extended her free hand anxiously and he unscrewed the top, pouring some in the makeshift cup it turned into.

"Luke said he can go back to our place and make you more if that's cold."

"Can you go thank him? And tell him that as soon as I've had a shower, he can come in here."

"Luke's fine, hon, don't worry." Lorelai told her.

Sitting down on the edge of the bed again, Jess handed Rory the cup. "I can go get you some from the vending machine if you want. It's not terrible."

"He's lying." Lorelai grimaced.

"This is fine." Rory said, taking the cup and taking a small sip from it. "Ok, it's frozen." She whined, handing it back to Jess. "Can you…"

"I'll get rid of it. Do you want some from the vending machine?"

"Nah, I can wait. I'm not wasting first real cup of coffee with that." She smiled, holding the baby up a bit as she fixed her clothes. "I'm choosing to believe you on this."

"You can ask the doctor in a bit."

"I will." She told her mother giggling. "Would either one of you like to hold her for a while? I can share. And my arms are getting tired."

"Lorelai?" Jess cocked an eyebrow and she looked at him, surprised.

"You sure?"

"I've had her for a bit, you should have some time with her too."

"You're such a grown up sometimes." She smiled, standing up and picking up the baby from Rory. "Oh my goodness, hi!" She cooed over her granddaughter. "You're gorgeous, aren't you?"

"I think she looks like Jess."

"Maybe she'll grow out of it." Lorelai replied.

"I can kick you out." Jess threatened. "Or at least take Cate away from you."

"Don't you listen to him, sweetheart, he's a big meany. Did I tell you I called pretty much everyone? Sookie, Lane and everyone else in town sends their congratulations since Sookie was in the diner when I called so she got to spread the news. There was some very loud cheering. Your dad and grandparents are dying to come see her, but I only told Chris where you are since, well, my mother is my mother. "

"They can come after I'm cleaned up a bit." Rory said, grabbing Jess's hand. "Is that ok with you?"

"Yes."

"Sure?"

"Yes." He kissed her temple. "Whatever you want."

"I'm not pregnant any more, you can't use that."

"Yes, I can."

"Take advantage of it." Lorelai advised her. "So yeah, that's all done. Oh, yeah, I have to call them back after this tiny little baby has been weighed." She cooed over the baby again. "Right on cue." She said when she heard the knock on the door. "I think so anyway."

"Come in!" Rory called from her place in the bed and Laura made her way in the room.

"How we doing?"

"We're perfect."

"Great. Ready to get up and move around for a bit?"

"Definitely."

"Great, let's give it a try then."


	73. Memories of long ago

**A/N: Thank you for your patience with me. **

* * *

**Memories of long ago**

"Rory! He took to the baby from me!" Lorelai whined, pointing at her son in law when Rory walked out of the small bathroom with the doctor's help.

"I had to, she wouldn't stop the baby talk. It was either that or killing her." Jess tried to defend himself.

"Do you think you could get security to cart them both away?"

"It can be arranged." Laura winked. "Now come on, back in bed." She urged Rory who complied.

"That was the best shower of my life." She mused out loud, tugging at her clean shirt.

"How about that time when you were 12 and Kirk decided to dig a moat around his house and hit the water main and the town didn't have water for three days? Because that was pretty horrendous." Lorelai said.

"Close, but this still wins."

"Do I even want to know who this Kirk is?" Laura asked Jess and he shook his head.

"You don't. Trust me."

"Jess, can I have the baby?" Rory asked, extending her arms towards him but Laura stepped in before he could reply.

"Actually, do you mind if I take her for a couple of minutes? I just want to weigh her and then I can go home and you don't have to let go of her again until you want to. I promise I'll be quick."

"Yeah, sure." Rory nodded, watching from her hospital bed as her husband handed Laura the newborn.

"Seven pounds, fifteen ounces." Laura announced, looking at the squirming baby on the scales. "Not bad, but not close to the record."

"Yeah, I don't think I want to apologize for that one."

"What is your record?" Lorelai asked.

"Eleven six." She said. "Some other doctor in the hospital delivered a twelve pounder last month."

"Holy hell." Lorelai cringed. "That's a whole lot of newborn clothes wasted."

"Straight into three-six months stuff. The dad had to rush home and bring more that would actually fit." She kept talking, not stopping her task either. "And twenty one inches. You're a tall one, aren't you?" She asked the baby, tickling her naked legs. "Speaking of clothes, do you have any you want me to put on her or should I use the hospital stuff?"

"We have some." Rory answered, looking at Jess as she prepared to ask him to get some but seeing he was already rummaging through the bag. "Top pocket."

"You repacked this, didn't you?" He smirked and Rory smiled back.

"It made more sense this way."

"Clearly." He sighed, trying to sound annoyed. "This one?" He held up a onesie and Rory nodded. "Here." Jess handed it to the doctor.

"Do you want to do it?

"I…" He hesitated before nodding. "Might as well."

"I'll supervise." Laura said, flashing Rory a smile before turning her attention back to Jess who was already halfway through putting a diaper on the baby. "Hey, not bad."

"It's actually easier when they're not trying to run away."

"Yeah, don't get used to it. Does she have a name yet?" She asked Rory, still keeping an eye on Jess.

"Cate."

"I like it. Wait, didn't it used to be something else?... Something about Ava Gardner comes to mind…?"

"Brett. And we changed our minds."

"Oh, yeah, that happens. I think Cate suits her just fine though." Looking at Jess who was holding the clothed baby, she smiled. "Good job. You're a pro already." Laura was quiet for a couple of seconds, going through the list of things she had to do in her head and checking them off. "I think I'm done. Do you need anything else?"

"We're good."

"Great. Awesome even. I'm about ready to collapse, to be honest." She laughed. "Have something to eat soon, ok?" She looked at Rory. "There's going to be a cart going around with sandwiches, but their breakfast food is pretty abysmal. Lunch is good though. You'd have a better chance sending someone to the coffee shop across the street, they make a mean omelet."

"How's their coffee?"

"Not bad." Laura told her. "Are we good?"

"We're good."

"And someone is going to come bring you some boring paperwork later. You don't have to do it today, but make sure it's filled in before you leave the hospital."

"I will."

"In that case, you all have fun, I'm going to bed. Press the big button of you need anything."

"Thank you so much." Rory smiled.

"Again with that?" The doctor answered, laughing. "Take care." She added before they all said their goodbyes.

"Can I have Cate back now?" Rory asked her husband and he nodded, sitting on the edge of the bed next to her, handing her the newborn. "Hi, sweetheart. I missed you." She said, kissing her daughter's forehead. "And I know your dad is going to think I'm silly because I was only gone for a few minutes, but I did."

"Not silly." Jess smiled, placing a kiss on her temple.

"You've gone soft." Lorelai teased him, wiping the corner of her eye at the same time.

"You're one to speak." He countered.

"If you're done arguing, can one of you come bring Luke in here? He's been out there the whole night, it can't be that fun."

"Don't worry, mom called very often to keep him busy."

"He must be so happy." Rory deadpanned.

Standing up from her seat, Lorelai opened the door and waved her husband inside, putting a hand on his arm as soon as he was in the room. "Look! Isn't she gorgeous?"

"Come meet your granddaughter, Luke." Rory smiled at him, holding up the baby as she squeezed Jess's hand with her free hand. "Or grandniece, whatever you want her to be. We just figured since, you know, you've been there for both of us more than our dads were and you technically are her grandfather…" She let the sentence hang for a second, clearing her throat again. "I'm rambling. Luke, meet Cate. Cate, this is Luke."

"She's beautiful." Luke smiled, running his hand slowly over the baby's head. "Congratulations."

"Thank you." Rory smiled back. "I think she looks like Jess."

"She does. But she's quiet. He didn't stop crying for the first two days though."

"Were you there?" Jess asked, looking up at his uncle.

"Oh, I was. Your grandpa too. And Jimmy." He added after a short pause.

"Did anyone punch anyone else?" Jess smirked. "Because it sounds like the kind that would definitely happen."

"No punching." Luke shook his head, still smiling. "But you did almost make it out of the hospital without a name."

"Is that why I lack a middle name?"

"Liz and Jimmy could barely agree on one, let alone two."

"I suppose they could have done worse." Jess said, trying not to laugh. "No punching and nothing that screams 'my parents were on drugs'. I'm almost proud." He joked, his hand holding his daughter's. "That's enough reminiscing for now, I'm going to go to the coffee shop and see about getting you some food." He kissed Rory's cheek quickly. "I don't want to think what will happen if you're hungry for much longer."

"I can go." Luke offered. "Better yet, I can go to your place and make breakfast there and bring it over."

"Luke, you don't have to." Rory tried to argue, knowing she'd lost the fight.

"I want to. It'll give me something to do." He told her, one hand on the doorknob already.

"Are you sure?"

"Very sure. I can get out of the hospital for a while too."

"I'm so sorry, you've been here all night and you hate hospi…"

"Couldn't miss my granddaughter being born, now could I?" He smiled at the young couple before waving. "I'll be back as soon as I can." He said as he left the room.

Catching up to him in the corridor a few seconds later, Jess held out his hand, a key in it.

"You'll need this."

"Yeah, I will." Taking the key from him, Luke put it in his pocket. "Congratulations, Jess. You're going to be a great dad." He gave his nephew a quick hug, patting his back with his right hand. "You really are."

"Thanks."

"I won't be long." He told him, turning to leave again.

"Hey, Luke?" Jess called out to the man, running a hand through his hair.

"Yeah?"

"Did you have to drag Jimmy to the hospital?"

"No." He told him, thinking back of the night.

* * *

"_I'm gonna kill him, I swear!" Liz moaned, grasping Luke's hand. "He's probably at some bar right now getting drunk while I'm having his kid and I swear, when I find him, and I will, I am going to rip his b…aaargh!" She yelled, squeezing tighter. "You're here, dad's here, but that deadbeat good for nothing jerk is not here to see this!" She continued ranting as the nurse wheeled her through the hallway._

"_Don't worry, Lizzie, he'll show." Luke tried to pacify her. "He's probably on his way right now."_

"_He's at _O'Malley's _getting drunk, that's where he is, the bastard!" _

"_I'm sorry, sir, but this is as far as you can go." The nurse told him, stopping the stretcher. _

"_It's gonna be fine." He told his sister, giving her hand one more squeeze before she got taken behind the doors. Taking a deep breath, he looked at them until he could no longer see her through the small window. Returning to the main hallway, he found his father in the chair where they'd left him, filling in paperwork. _

"_I'm going out for a while."_

"_Luke, I don't think that's…"_

"_He has to be here." He slashed the air with his hand, pointing at the corridor he'd just come from. "I'm not going to let Liz have a baby all by herself. So if I have to go out and drag him in here, I will. Because both she and that baby deserve more."_

"_Don't get into any trouble." The older man advised him before watching him storm out of the hospital._

* * *

_Climbing the steps to Liz's apartment two-three at the time, Luke could not himself from thinking of how much harm he wanted to do to his sister's husband, in the desperate hope that if he imagined it enough times, he'd get it out of his system without any punches actually being thrown. Turning the corner to the second floor – he had to try to find her a better place to live, fifth floor and no elevator wasn't going to work with a small baby, he was almost knocked down by another man rushing in the opposite direction. Putting a hand on the railing, he barely held himself up, the other guy equally confused by the unexpected stop._

"_Jimmy?" He realized, squinting to see better in the moonlight peeking through a dirty window. "Where the hell have you been, you…!" He stopped himself in time, taking a few menacing steps towards him._

"_Look, I just got home and saw the note. I was coming."_

"_Move!" He grabbed his sleeve and pulled him slightly towards the stairs, trying to ignore the whiff of cheap beer. "I swear, if you miss this…" He tried to control himself before he nudged him again as the other man turned around._

"_What's your problem, man? I said I was going!"_

"_Go faster!"_

* * *

"Mom just called to say they're at the hospital." Lorelai told her daughter.

"Does she know we don't need an update on their whereabouts every five seconds?"

"Apparently not." She shrugged. Before she could say anything else, there was a hurried knock on the door, followed by a muffled "Lorelai! Open the door!" from Emily.

"Time to face the music." Lorelai whispered to her daughter. "Hold Cate up, they'll be distracted."

"Don't talk about my daughter like she's hyena food."

"Might as well be." She whispered again before opening the door. "Mom! Dad! Hi! Come meet the baby! Come, come!" She whisked them inside, trying to direct them towards the bed with her waving hands. "Isn't she adorable?"

"Oh, Rory…" Emily let out without thinking, a couple of tears shining in her eyes. "She's so precious."

"And …distracted!" Lorelai mouthed behind her parents' backs.

"Congratulations." The woman looked from Rory to Jess, still beaming happily.

"She's beautiful. Congratulations." Richard said, holding back tears as well.

"Here, hold her." Rory suggested, lifting her arms towards her grandmother. "I'm just about ready to let go of her again." As soon as her hands were free again, she took Jess's in hers.

"Thank you." Emily smiled, taking the newborn into her arms. "She has your eyes." She told her granddaughter.

"Does she have a middle name yet?"

"Yes. And a new first name." Rory announced, watching her grandparents as they cradled the baby. "Catherine Lorelai Mariano."

"That's a good name." Richard smiled.

"We couldn't really ruin the tradition, could we?"

Lifting the baby up in her arms, Emily kissed her forehead before handing her to Richard. "You should hold her too."

* * *

"_Richard!" A young Emily called to her husband, extending her arms towards him. "We have a daughter!"_

"_The nurse told me, dear." He smiled, leaning down and placing a soft kiss on his wife's forehead. _

"_You reek of your cigars." She scrunched up her nose, trying her best to sound threatening._

"_It's tradition." He sat down in the chair besides her bed, holding her hand. "And I only had one."_

"_Oh, Richard, have you seen her yet? The nurse wouldn't let me stand up."_

"_And you listened?" He asked, taken aback._

"_You're right." Emily decided, determination taking over and pushing the rest of the conflicting emotions. "Help me up."_

"_Emily, I don't think…" He suddenly realized his mistake._

"_I said help me up, Richard! I'm not going to lay here and wait for someone to tell me when I can and can't see my daughter!" She held up her arms again and he shook his head._

"_No. But I am going to go find a nurse to bring her to you. How is that?"_

"_Richard Gilmore, you have exactly five minutes and if you're not back by the time they're up, I am going to march out of here without your help. Do you understand?" She asked after weighing the situation in her head. _

"_Yes, dear."_

_Four minutes and twenty eight seconds later, Richard pushed the door open with his hand, allowing a nurse in a crisp white dress pushing a bassinet to go first. _

"_Here she is, Emily." He smiled at his wife, taking her hand as the nurse left. "She is…"_

"_Perfect." She finished the sentence for him, her hand holding the baby's._

* * *

"Lor! Hey!" Chris called, walking up to Lorelai who was waiting for her coffee at the coffee cart.

"Hi!" She waved back, giving him a quick hug and a kiss on the cheek. "Want some?" She pointed at the cart and he shook his head.

"No thanks."

"Give me a second, I'll take you there. Mom and dad are on cooing duty."

"How's Rory?"

"Great. Wonderful. Amazing."

"And the baby?"

"The most beautiful baby girl I've seen since Rory was born." She took the cup the girl handed her before waving towards the elevator. "Come see!"

"Give me a minute, I'm going to go buy some flowers. I have a ton of stuff for them in my car but I figured I should take it slow."

"Chris, did you buy her a castle?"

"Not yet." He grinned, picking up the largest bouquet.

"No castles. Or ponies. Or anything else unless Rory and Jess agree."

"Oh, so you're saying you don't want to go in with me on a drum kit?"

"Now, now, let's not make any rash decisions."

Pressing the button to the elevator, Lorelai stood to the side, sipping her coffee while Chris held up the flowers. "Good enough?"

"I don't know, you could at least have five more delivered."

"Do you feel old?" He turned his head to look at her as the elevator made its way up. "Because I really seriously do."

"God yes." Lorelai nodded. "We're grandparents, Chris."

"Great, say it out loud."

"It's fine, you don't even have _that_ much grey hair." She teased. "It's like only yesterday she was a baby."

* * *

"_Stop!" Lorelai almost screamed as she saw Christopher in the hospital's corridor, leaning against a wall._

"_Miss, I…" The nurse tried to say, stopping the wheelchair with Lorelai in it at the same time._

"_It's ok, he's friend, he can take it from here." She grabbed Chris's sleeve, pulling him towards her. "Go have some coffee or something."_

"_Miss, I'm not supposed to…"_

"_I won't tell anyone if you don't." She tried to look as innocent as possible. "It's really close, you said so, and I promise I won't get out of the wheelchair…?"_

"_I don't know…"_

"_I'm sure you have something better than to wheel me around, don't you?" She suggested and the nurse threw her hands in the air, giving up. _

"_Fine. But stay in the chair!"_

_As soon as the nurse was out of sight, Lorelai extended her hands towards Christopher. "Help me up."_

"_But you just said…"_

"_Chris!" She waved them impatiently, glaring at him. Sighing, he helped her up and she made sure her robe was tied securely before starting to take small steps towards the nursery. _

"_I'm guessing she hasn't met your mother if she actually let you out of her sight."_

"_Hah! No way." _

"_Where are they?"_

"_Yelling at someone, I'd imagine." Lorelai shrugged. "How did you know? Did they…?"_

"_Called your house to see how you were doing. Maid told me." He replied, looking at her. "How was it?"_

"_Awful, but in a good way. It's all so weird." She put her arm through his to keep herself up. "Have you seen her?"_

"_Her?"_

"_Didn't you…?"_

"_No one told me."_

"_It's a girl, Christopher. We have a daughter." She told him with a sigh, looking at him. "I called her Rory. Well, Lorelai but there's already me and it would be weird and she looks like a Rory." She rambled as they came to stand in front of the window to the nursery. "There." She pointed at the baby in the front row, letting go of his hand. The next couple of minutes passed quietly as they both stared at the baby, trying to process their own feelings and thoughts._

"_She's pretty." Christopher finally said._

"_She's perfect." _


	74. All the time in the world

**All the time in the world**

"So have you put any thought into what schools Cate's going to go to?" Richard asked later that day as he held the baby in his arms.

"Erm… no," she answered, turning her head towards Jess and Lorelai, mouthing a _'what?' _to them. "She's eight hours old, I think we have some time to decide."

"Don't leave it too late, Rory, some of these school are incredibly competitive." Emily added. "We were having dinner with Hanlin and Bitty Charleston a few weeks ago… you girls remember Hanlin, don't you, he was the…"

"Headmaster at Chilton," Rory finished her grandmother's sentence. "Trust me, I remember."

"He retired a couple of years back and they moved to Florida. Awful place, so warm and full of old people on those golf cart things but to each their own, I suppose. They came back for a visit and we had dinner."

"What's the point, mother?" Lorelai let out an exasperated breath.

"Is that really necessary, Lorelai? I was getting to the point."

"Yes!"

"Fine. My point is that, according to Hanlin, you should get on a waiting list as soon as possible if you want Cate to go to a good school."

"We haven't talked about it much, grandma." Rory answered. "We're not sure we're going to send her to private school, there are some excellent public ones around here."

"Nonsense, she has to go to private school. How else is she going to get into Yale?"

"Maybe she won't want to go to Yale," Lorelai said. "It's a bit early for her to have decided what she wants to do with her future."

"What else is she going to do with her life?"

"Be a rock star," Lorelai rolled her eyes.

"Maybe she'll want to go to Harvard," Jess smirked.

"Hey, careful now, that's the equivalent of wishing she'd go to hell in this family," Lorelai laughed.

"No one shunned me when I was planning on going there," Rory reminded her mother.

"Maybe not shunned, but we were all disappointed."

"Rory, that's not true," Emily started saying and Rory smiled, brushing it off.

"I know, grandma."

"It was a joke," Lorelai mumbled under her breath.

"I'm sure she'll be amazing, no matter what she decides to do," Richard smiled, looking at the baby in his arms.

"You'll think about it, Rory?" Emily asked.

"We'll look into schools and get her on a waiting list if it's necessary." She reassured her grandmother. "But since this is not Stars Hollow, she might end up going to a public school. A good one."

"Harvard alone may not get her shunned, but public school and Harvard will do it," Lorelai whispered to Jess and he laughed. "Make sure you get her a Hilary 2016 onesie and you'll never have to see them again."

"What was that, Lorelai?"

"Nothing, mom. Just wanted to know if Jess thought it was time I went and got dinner."

"And that requires all that secrecy?"

"Didn't want to interrupt your conversation." She grinned, trying to be as convincing as possible. "So, Jess, dinner?"

"I figured we'd get something from the cafeteria." He replied with a shrug.

"Oh, god, trust me, you don't want to do that. We had lunch there and it was gross. The doctor lied when she said it wasn't."

"She's right, it was pretty awful." Emily backed her up.

"Maybe dinner will be better?" Rory suggested.

"Maybe, but why take the chance. I'll go get Chinese food. It's a way better plan."

"I like the sound of that."

"Great, it's settled. Mom, dad, do you want something?"

"No, thank you, Lorelai, we should head back to our hotel. We'll have dinner there, I think."

"Aw, you sure?" Rory looked at her grandmother.

"We'll be back tomorrow."

"Ok."

"Congratulations again, Rory," Emily said as she hugged her granddaughter briefly. "You're going to be a wonderful mother to that baby."

"Thank you!"

"Here you go," Richard carefully placed the newborn back in her mother's arms. "Let us know if there's ever anything we can help with, ok?"

"I will."

"'K, I'll be back in a bit with dinner," Lorelai told them before the three of them left.

"Feel free to call them insane," Rory smiled at Jess.

"Nah, they have a point. Or at least their concern comes from a good place."

"Wait, you're not going to make any sarcastic comments about my grandparents worrying about Cate's college career?" Holding the baby up, she kissed her head before whispering loudly "I think he hit his head, Cate. Good thing we're in a hospital."

"I want her to have everything she wants," Jess caressed the baby's head with his fingers. "A college degree makes that a hell of a lot easier and an Ivy League one even more so. Unless she decides she doesn't want to go to college, there's no harm in putting her on that path so she doesn't have to play catch-up later."

"I'm not saying I disagree but today…"

"Yeah, ok, that bit is ridiculous." He nodded, leaning over and kissing Cate's head.

"You haven't lost your mind completely." Rory laughed.

* * *

"Hi guys!" Laura greeted everyone in the room that evening. "I hear you had quite a crowd in here earlier." She said as she sat down in a chair.

"Everyone's a bit excited about her," Rory smiled at the newborn in her arms. "Trying to tell them to wait before visiting felt like a Sisyphean task."

"And you haven't met my mother. You cannot tell my mother she can't do something."

"I can always tell the nurses not to let people in."

"Right, would you also like to come deal with the guilt trips forever?" She laughed in response. "Don't worry, it's all good. Though I don't think Cate's been in that basinet yet."

"She'll have plenty of time for that," Laura told her with a smile. "You're good?"

"I'm good."

"I talked to the pediatrician, she says the baby's good too," she added, glancing at the baby. "Which means that you can go home tomorrow if you want."

"Seriously?"

"Sure. There's no reason to keep you here if we don't have to. You can stay another day or two, but I thought I'd give you the choice."

"I… uh… What do you think?" She looked at Jess and he shrugged.

"I'm fine either way."

"Well that's not very helpful."

"I can go any time I want, so it really doesn't matter to me," he smirked.

"Under penalty of death and dismemberment maybe," Rory countered.

"In that order?" He asked, cocking an eyebrow. "I'm good going home tomorrow if you're good with it."

"I'm good. I think. Maybe. What should we do?" She turned to look at the doctor and she shook her head.

"Nope, I'm not going to tell you. You can do whatever you're comfortable with."

"Ok. We'll go tomorrow."

"Great, I'll let people know," she stood up again. "I'll let you get some rest, call a nurse if you need anything."

"Thank you!" Rory waved goodbye to the woman. "Hear that, kiddo? We can take you home tomorrow!" She placed a small kiss on Cate's forehead.

"And then it's really on." Lorelai laughed. "You'll be fine though," she added quickly. "I promise."

"Oh, good, that sounded really reassuring."

"I kept you alive and my only experience with babies was from having to take care of that stupid egg in school. By the time _For Keeps_ came out, it was too late."

"Between that and _Look Who's Talking_, I think we're set," Jess said, smirking. "There's not a lot more to this parenting business is there?"

"Nope."

"Awesome."

"But just in case that fails, remember you can call me any time. Day or night."

"Because you're such a peach when someone wakes you in the middle of the night," Rory teased her mother.

"I have a toddler at home, sleeping through the night hasn't happened in ages. In fact, this is like a holiday for me." Glancing at the clock on the wall, she stood up. "And on that note, I really should go join Luke at your house. It's late, visiting hours are done and I'm beat. I'll come back nice and early tomorrow, with breakfast. Which I'll ask Luke to make."

"Ok." Rory nodded.

"You be good, kiddo," Lorelai smiled, taking Cate's hand between her fingers. I'll be back to spoil you tomorrow." Leaning down, she gave Rory a hug. "Call if you want me to bring something. Or need to talk. Or whatever."

"I will. Go get some sleep." She urged her mother.

"I am. Bye, Jess. You can call too if you want."

"Thanks."

"Don't mention it. Good night!"

"Night, mom!" Rory called after her. "And then there were three." She smiled as the door closed behind her mother. "How are you?"

"Exhausted, but otherwise. You?"

"Great. So, so great. Do you want to hold Cate?"

"In a minute. I have something for her." Standing up, Jess went to messenger bag he'd brought with him, looking through it until he found a book. "She's going to need a bit of help with it for a while though." He said as he put the book on Rory's lap before taking the baby from her.

"Jess, did you…" she trailed off, picking up the book and looking through it. "You wrote a book for Cate."

"It's a short book."

"I don't know how I feel about having to share your dad's books," Rory laughed, running her hand down their daughter's arm. "You are amazing," she told him, leaning closer and placing a soft kiss on his lips.

"Ok, all right, we get it, stop fussing. Geez, I thought she'd be older before she started protesting us kissing," he chuckled, looking at the crying baby in his arms. "What's the matter?"

"I don't think she's going to answer."

"So… what do we do?"

"Guess?" Rory shrugged. "I don't know either!"

"I hope we have a receipt, this parenting thing may not work if there's guessing involved," he said. "Do you have a coin to do this?"

"How about you change her diaper and then give her to me to feed?"

"I'll take it." He said, standing up and taking the baby to the changing area. Returning a few moments later, he handed Rory the baby. "Here."

"How long do you think it will be until we get the hang of this?"

"Before she's in high school for sure," Jess kissed the top of Rory's head. "I'm going to go make a call while you do that."

"Who to?"

"Jimmy."

"Tell him I said hi," she grinned, following him with her eyes as he left the room before looking at the baby again. "Ok, tiny, time for food."

* * *

Sitting on a bench outside, Jess took a deep breath as he stared at the phone before finally pressing the call button.

"Hello."

"Hey, Jimmy," he greeted the other man, running a hand through his hair. "The baby's here. …Jimmy?" He added after a few seconds of silence.

"Still here, just… whoa. This is… whoa. How is she?"

"Great. Healthy and beautiful. She has a lot of black hair and she's just so beautiful. She was crying her lungs out when I left."

"They do that at that age," the man said, his voice gentle.

"We named her Catherine. Cate."

"Earnshaw?"

"Barkley."

"That should have been my first guess. How about you and Rory, how are you doing?"

"Rory's great, she's been great all along. I… well, I really wish I hadn't quit smoking," he let out a breath. "I'm good, it's just this whole day's been…"

"Nerve wrecking?" Jimmy offered.

"That."

"They never taste as good as you remember them, believe me."

"Thanks," he smiled. "I should go back inside, I just wanted to let you know you're a grandfather."

"Thank you. Go, be with them. Tell Rory I said hi and congratulations."

"She told me to say hi as well. And to Sasha and Lily."

"I'll pass it along."

"We might have to start passing the phone around instead of passing notes soon."

"Sounds like a plan." Jimmy laughed. "Hey, listen, can you email me some pictures? I'd like to have one or two around the house."

"Sure. I'll talk to you on Tuesday."

"I'll be here."

* * *

Walking back in the hospital, Jess stopped in the door, leaning against the frame. From there, he stared at his wife and their daughter sleeping on her chest, her small hand holding to Rory's sleeve. Feeling his breath get caught in his throat, he forced himself to cough twice as quietly as he could before approaching the bed once Rory had noticed him.

"I love you so much," he whispered, pushing a strand of hair behind Rory's ear as he kissed her. "And you," he bent down more so he could kiss the baby's head. "And you are both perfect."

"She is. Me? Not so much."

"Nah, trust me on this," he smiled, pressing his lips to hers again.

"Go get some sleep."

* * *

"Come on, you don't want to hear me sing," Rory mumbled later that night, rocking the baby in her arms, trying to get her to settle. As she looked up at Jess when she heard him let out a snore as he shuffled in the chair, she felt a smile take over her face. "You really don't, I promise," she focused on the baby again. "You don't want to hear your dad either. In fact, your grandma Lorelai's the only one who can sing and we're not entirely sure how that happened. And your Auntie Lane's band, but that's a band so it's kind of in the rules that they have to not break glasses when they sing. I'm sorry if this ruins everything for you, like if you grow up and want to start your own band, but you can always play the drums or the guitar or the whatever you want, ok?" She lifted the baby closer, kissing her forehead. "And you want to know something else? We're going to love you and be proud of you and support you no matter what you decide to do. As long as you're happy."

**THE END **


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